Date of Graduation

1989

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

In transit technology evaluation models, presently being used, no provisions have been made for perceptions. An Acceptance Evaluation Model for a New Transit Technology, which objectively considers all technologies, has been developed. The case study applies the eight-step methodological model to evaluate the acceptance of aerial cable technology (aerial cable tramways and gondolas) compared to bus, van, self-propelled and cable-propelled people movers, and Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) for urban applications. Two urban scenarios were considered for application of Aerial Cable Technology (ACT)--as a Downtown Connector to parking facilities and in a Regional Center interconnecting developments. The acceptance of the ACT has been evaluated based on the perceptions of transportation professionals toward the seven technologies in terms of 8 physical and 28 subjective attributes. Questionnaires were sent to 120 professionals and 58 were returned. Acceptance and Awareness Indexes have been computed for the seven technologies from the perceptions of physical attributes. The responses to the 28 subjective attributes have been used in Principal Components Analysis to identify two representative dimensions for the 28 subjective attributes. Based on the factor loadings, the two dimensions have been labeled as 'Performance' and 'Implementability'. Perceptual maps have been prepared in showing the relative positions of the seven technologies with 'Performance' and 'Implementability' as axes. The hypothesis, that perceptions of the professionals having experience with ACT are more favorable toward ACT than those professionals without experience in ACT, was supported by this research. Although there is no true operational PRT system but there are several thousands of operating ACT systems, the professionals with no experience in ACT expressed better awareness of PRT than ACT. This research showed that preferences based on perceptions may not correspond to selections based on actual values of physical attributes. The research results suggest that inaccurate perceptions by transportation professionals could lead to inappropriate conclusions in the alternatives analysis. The model can be used as part of an alternative analysis to determine the acceptance level of a new technology in terms of perceptions. It can be used in the marketing of a new transit technology to identify the areas of the technology that need to be improved either technologically or in the perceptions of transportation professionals, decision makers, or users.

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