A Foresight Study on the Adoption of Autonomous Public Transport in Malaysia: Case Study in Kuching

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles are getting common and being a hot topic in this
technological era. However, autonomous public transport is still new phenomenon
in Malaysia. As a result, there is uncertainty over the adoption of autonomous
public transport. The question arises as to whether a combination of automated
driving and public transportation is a flexible and efficient mobility option that may
also attract former non-customers to use public transportation in Malaysia. Hence
this study is aimed to identify the drivers, the level of consumer perceptions, and
future trends of the autonomous public transport in Malaysia. Social,
Technological, environmental, Economic, Political, Value (STEEPV) analysis is
used in the first phase for identifying the issues and drivers of adopting autonomous
public transport in Malaysia. The impact-uncertainty of autonomous public
transport in Malaysia is analysed using questionnaire distribution and SPSS
statistical analysis in the second phase. A total amount of 382 questionnaires were
distributed to the community in Kuching. 211 responses were gathered and the
response rate was 55.23%. Based on the impact-uncertainty analysis, the results
show that the two drivers with highest impact and uncertainty were government
policy and effective and efficient of autonomous public transport. The scenario
analysis was constructed with the two drivers which illustrates the four alternative
possibilities in the future. The ideal scenario is where government policy and
effective and efficient must coexist in order to generate positive future for adoption
of autonomous public transport in Malaysia.