The imminent introduction of flying cars in the traffic fleet is anticipated to modify the mobility patterns of urban commuters. Flying cars' hybrid operation on the ground and in the air, in conjunction with their (semi-) automated capabilities, may lead to more appealing trip considerations, such as travel time, fuel consumption, or environmental emissions, as well as to the emergence of new sources of concerns for the potential users. In this context, the future adoption of flying cars is directly associated with individuals' perceptions of the benefits and concerns arising from the use of flying cars. This paper aims to identify the perceptual patterns of individuals towards travel time, cost and environmental benefits, as well as towards challenges arising from key flying cars operational characteristics. To that end, grouped random parameters bivariate probit models of individuals' perceptions are estimated using data collected from an online survey of 692 individuals. The statistical analysis shows that a number of sociodemographic, behavioral, and attitudinal characteristics affect respondents' expectations and concerns towards the adoption and implementation of flying cars. Even though individuals' perceptions are anticipated to undergo substantial changes until the introduction of flying cars in the traffic fleet, the findings of this work may shed more light on perceptual nuances with critical effect on public interest about the adoption of flying cars.
From the early years of aviation, flying cars have constituted an appealing topic for science-fiction 35 scenarios. Currently, recent technological developments demonstrate that flying cars will be introduced in the traffic fleet over the next few years. Despite their forthcoming penetration in the automobile market, the level of anticipated acceptance from the traveling population has not been investigated yet in travel demand literature. This study aims -for the first time to the authors' knowledge -to provide a preliminary investigation of individuals' perceptions and expectations towards the adoption of flying cars. For this purpose, 692 individuals were questioned in the context of an online survey about their willingness to pay for and willingness to use flying cars for various pricing and trip scenarios, as well as about the benefits and concerns that will arise from the introduction of flying cars in the traffic fleet. To understand the determinants of individuals' expectations, their willingness to pay for and use flying cars was statistically modeled, by employing a grouped random parameters bivariate probit framework, which accounts for multiple 46 layers of unobserved heterogeneity in the respondent's decision-making process. The statistical analysis revealed that various individual-specific socio-demographic, behavioral and driving attributes, as well as individuals' attitudinal perspectives towards the cost, safety, security and environmental implications of the flying cars, affect their willingness to adopt this emerging transportation technology. Despite the current limited awareness about the operation of flying cars, the findings of this study can provide insights regarding critical challenges that should be addressed by policymakers, legislative companies, and manufacturing companies after the introduction of flying cars in the traffic fleet.
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