The Formation of Trust in Autonomous Vehicles after Interacting with Robotaxis on Public Roads

Abstract: This study investigates how pedestrian trust, receptivity, and behavior evolve during interactions with Level-4 autonomous vehicles (AVs) at uncontrolled urban intersections in a naturalistic setting. While public acceptance is critical for AV adoption, most prior studies relied on simplified simulations or field tests. We conducted a real-world experiment in a commercial Robotaxi operation zone, where 33 participants repeatedly crossed an uncontrolled intersection with frequent Level-4 Robotaxi traffic. Participants completed the Pedestrian Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ), Pedestrian Receptivity Questionnaire for Fully AVs (PRQF), pre- and post-experiment Trust in AVs Scale, and Personal Innovativeness Scale (PIS). Results showed that trust in AVs significantly increased post-experiment, with the increase positively associated with the Interaction component of PRQF. Additionally, both the Positive and Error subscales of the PBQ significantly influenced trust change. This study reveals how trust forms in real-world pedestrian-AV encounters, offering insights beyond lab-based research by accounting for population heterogeneity.