Willingness-to-relocate: Examining preferences for parking relocation of privately-owned automated vehicles

Privately-owned automated vehicles (PAVs) can relocate themselves elsewhere after arriving at destinations, thereby inducing empty vehicle mile traveled (VMT) and more greenhouse gas emissions. This paper examines travelers’ preferences for PAV relocation, using stated preference surveys distributed in the Seattle and Kansas City regions in the U.S. Model results suggest that trip purpose, individual socio-economic and household characteristics, and local contexts influence PAV relocation decisions. Additionally, a willingness-to-relocate (WTR) metric is defined to represent how much time travelers would be willing to spend to relocate PAVs to save $1 in parking costs. The WTR estimates in both regions indicate the potential of induced VMT due to PAV parking relocation. Furthermore, travelers’ awareness of fuel/energy costs associated with PAV relocation does not necessarily relate to a lower WTR, depending on the region. To curb excessive empty VMT from PAV relocation, explicit disincentives, such as a VMT fee, may be needed.