Who will use new mobility technologies? Exploring demand for shared, electric, and automated vehicles in three Canadian metropolitan regions

So-called new mobility innovations could transform transportation systems, including the deployment of shared, electric, and automated vehicles. However, researchers are still learning about who is currently using these technologies ( realized demand ) and who is interested in future usage ( latent demand ). We explore these patterns via a representative survey including three of Canada's largest metropolitan regions: Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal (n = 3658, June 2020). Realized demand is assessed as respondents who use or own the technology (pre-pandemic), while latent demand is assessed as respondents who report interest in using the technology (post-pandemic). For most technologies, latent demand is higher than realized demand, indicating the potential for market growth. Exceptions are ride-hailing and pooled ride-hailing in Toronto and Montreal, where latent demand is lower, likely due to concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is regional variation in realized and latent demand for shared mobility: ride-hailing usage is highest in Toronto and car sharing usage and interest are highest in Vancouver (each corresponding to regional availability). Further, latent demand for electric vehicles and fully automated electric vehicles are highest in Montreal. Otherwise, latent demand levels for the remining technologies are similar across regions. Regression models indicate that latent demand for each technology is associated with respondents' travel patterns, demographics, values, lifestyles, and environmental concern. Regional effects hold in descriptive and regression analyses, for example higher car-sharing latent demand among Vancouver respondents and higher electric vehicle latent demand among Montreal residents, suggesting regional context plays a role in explaining latent demand.

Automated summary

Researchers conducted a survey in three major metropolitan regions in Canada and found that latent demand for new mobility technologies is higher than realized demand, indicating the potential for market growth. The study also revealed that travel patterns, demographics, values, lifestyles, and environmental concern are associated with the demand for these technologies.