The successful adoption of a product or service by its target market or users relies on delivering a product or service in line with their needs and expectations. Failure to do so will likely result in a low rate of uptake or use of the product or service. This study sought to identify the criteria by which potential users of a first-/last-mile automated bus (AB) service would evaluate the service, and accordingly decide whether to use or disregard the service. This research investigated various explanatory factors affecting users’ perceptions of the service’s quality and utility, and which enhanced or diminished their intentions to use it. The data analysed in this study was collected from a survey conducted in February and March of 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, during a trial operation of a first-/last-mile AB service. Three-factor theory analysis, commonly used to analyse services, was applied to this data in order to identify users’ core perceptions about the service, which in turn influence their intention-to-use the service. Structural equation modelling was used to identify the significant factors that influence the identified perceptions influencing the intention-to-use the service. This study found that different subgroups of users prioritised different attributes. Prospective users (with no prior experience with the service) were most concerned with the frequency of service. Their intention-to-use the service greatly increased when the service frequency is comparable to the service frequency of a regular public bus service. Experienced users’ intentions to continue using the service greatly increased when the buses were made more comfortable. This study additionally found that users’ perceptions of the service’s quality were also influenced by numerous factors including the passenger’s age, income level, preferred mode of travel for daily trips, preferred mode of travel for first-/last-mile trips, being tech-savvy or not, and their level of familiarity with automated driving technology.

目标市场或用户能否成功采用产品或服务，取决于交付符合其需求和期望的产品或服务。否则可能会导致产品或服务的摄取或使用率降低。这项研究试图确定先行/最后一英里自动公交（AB）服务的潜在用户用来评估服务的标准，并据此决定是使用还是不理会该服务。这项研究调查了各种影响用户对服务质量和效用感知的解释性因素，这些因素增强或减弱了用户使用服务的意图。本研究中分析的数据来自于2018年2月和3月在瑞典斯德哥尔摩进行的第一英里/最后一英里AB服务的试运行期间进行的调查。三因素理论分析 通常将用于分析服务的数据应用于此数据，以识别用户对服务的核心看法，进而影响用户使用服务的意图。使用结构方程模型来识别影响识别的感知影响服务使用意图的重要因素。这项研究发现，不同的用户分组优先考虑不同的属性。潜在用户（以前没有使用该服务的经验）最关心服务的频率。当服务频率与常规公共巴士服务的服务频率相当时，他们的服务使用意向大大增加。当公交车变得更舒适时，有经验的用户继续使用该服务的意图大大增加了。