Alessandro La Delfa’s scientific contributions

In response to sustainable mobility paradigms and the transition from private ownership to shared utilization, shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) may play a pivotal role in future mobility systems. However, SAVs are still emerging, and there is a lack of cohesive frameworks and criteria to evaluate cities’ readiness for SAVs. Therefore, this study proposes a new conceptual framework to evaluate city readiness for SAVs, ensuring their integration and bridging an existing research gap. By conducting an integrative literature review, existing research in the field of SAVs is assessed and synthesised in a way that allows new perspectives to emerge. The 34 included publications were inductively coded using Atlas.ti software. As a result, the proposed framework addresses city readiness in five core categories: infrastructure, security & privacy, policy, regulation & legality, innovation, collaboration & economics, and customer/citizen engagement. Infrastructure and policy, regulation & legality were identified as the most crucial of these categories.

The deployment of shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) represents a major shift in urban mobility. Hereby, the scalable implementation of SAVs poses numerous challenges to stakeholders, making thorough exploratory research to identify these challenges essential. This study aims to identify the implementation challenges for the commercial and scalable deployment of SAVs using an exploratory qualitative approach, including semi-structured interviews with 29 high-level experts from different stakeholder groups and regions. The data was analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Ultimately, the analysis revealed five key implementation challenges: technical (focusing on digital driver readiness, infrastructure, and safety), economic (highlighting funding, profitability, and business model viability), regulatory (addressing approval and regulatory processes), structural/ organisational (highlighting stakeholder collaboration, market fragmentation, and operational complexity), and societal/ behavioural (considering user acceptance, abilities, and societal impact). These themes highlight the multifaceted barriers to SAV deployment and assist to formulate actionable recommendations and managerial implications for solution strategies.

Shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) are emerging as a potential tool for sustainable transportation, yet their impact on travel behavior and environmental outcomes remains uncertain. This review evaluates the sustainability implications of SAV adoption, including its potential to reduce emissions through optimized fleet operations, enhance social equity by improving mobility access, and increase economic efficiency through resource-sharing models. This systematic literature review examines 107 articles from English and Chinese databases, focusing on SAVs’ effects on total travel demand, mode choice, and in-vehicle time use. Findings indicate that SAVs could increase vehicle miles traveled due to unoccupied relocation and new demand from previously underserved demographics, though advanced booking and dispatch systems may mitigate this increase. The study identifies 59 factors influencing SAV adoption, categorized as user-centric, contextual, and psycho-attitudinal. Analysis of in-vehicle time use shows varied activities, from productivity to leisure, with contradictory findings in the value of travel time (VOT) compared to conventional vehicles: while some studies report up to 34% lower VOT for SAVs due to multitasking opportunities, others find up to 29% higher VOT. Privacy and personal space emerge as important factors, with users showing a high willingness to pay to avoid additional passengers. The review highlights underexplored variables and methodological limitations in current research, including psychological influences and mode substitution dynamics. These insights inform policymakers and urban planners on how to integrate SAVs into sustainable transportation systems by mitigating their environmental impact, promoting equitable access, and ensuring alignment with smart urban planning strategies.

While extensive research has examined how major life events affect travel habits, less attention has been paid to the impact of minor environmental changes on commuting behavior, particularly regarding shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs). This study investigated how daily disruptions and incremental environmental changes influence commuter behavior patterns and SAV adoption in Shanghai, applying the theory of interpersonal behavior framework. The study surveyed 517 Shanghai residents, examining travel satisfaction, commuting habits, psychological factors (such as habit strength and satisfaction), and attitudes towards SAVs. Structural equation modeling was employed to test hypotheses about psychological factors influencing SAV adoption, while logistic regression analyzed how these factors affected mode choice across different disruption contexts. Analysis revealed that psychological factors, particularly habit and satisfaction, were stronger predictors of SAV adoption than attitude-based factors. Route obstructions and workplace relocations significantly increased SAV consideration. Even minor, recurring disruptions, such as construction zones, showed strong effects on commuting behavior, supporting the habit discontinuity hypothesis and emphasizing the importance of minor disruptions in driving behavioral change. The study extends the theory of interpersonal behavior by integrating habit discontinuity theory to explain how minor disruptions drive SAV adoption. This research provides actionable insights for urban planners and policymakers, recommending that SAV trials and targeted interventions be implemented during infrastructure changes or other commuting disruptions to promote SAV adoption and foster more sustainable transportation systems.