An exploratory investigation of public perceptions towards autonomous urban ferries

Abstract Autonomous vessels are envisioned to enhance safety, improve environmental sustainability, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. With much effort directed towards merchant shipping, technical designs for urban ferries are also under development to facilitate smart mobility. Safety perceptions of such autonomous ferries are likely important drivers of the adoption of such novel technologies. Understanding the public’s perceived benefits and concerns can support policy makers and industry in implementing responsible risk governance and can have design and operational implications. This article explores this topic for a hypothetical autonomous urban ferry in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through phone surveys and interviews, focus is on safety perceptions of different automation degrees, which are further explored in relation to selected population characteristics. Improved environmental performance is the most important perceived benefit, whereas safety is the most important concern. Overall, there is support for increased automation, but an on-board presence of qualified operators is considered important for safety and security related reasons. Remotely controlled ferries without onboard personnel or fully autonomous vessels are generally perceived as (very) unsafe. Men are slightly more favourable of increased automation than women, as are people with more digital knowledge and skills. Acknowledging several limitations of this exploratory study, of which the focus on older age groups in the studied population is the most significant, the findings suggest that understanding the public’s safety perceptions is important to ensure the successful design, implementation, and operation of autonomous urban, so that the envisaged benefits of these new systems can be achieved.