Strategies for personal mobility: A study of consumer acceptance of subscription drive-it-yourself car services
Author(s)
Le Vine, Scott
Type
Thesis or dissertation
Abstract
This thesis investigates consumer acceptance of subscription drive-it-yourself car services [SDCSs],
which are an evolution of car hire that began entering the commercial marketplace in the mid-
1990s. The aim of this research is to develop techniques to forecast how consumer demand for
SDCSs may develop.
On the basis of research reported in this thesis, it is argued that a person’s [strategic] decision to
subscribe to an SDCS can be reasonably considered to have a dependency with their expectation of
[tactically] using it to access particular out-of-home personal activities. It is shown that people can
also be thought to view subscribing to an SDCS as part of a larger ‘portfolio’ choice of travel options.
Traditional analyses of people’s travel choices are insensitive to these two issues.
Two datasets, one revealed-choice and the other stated-choice, were designed in order to provide
empirical data to test the proposed ‘strategic/tactical’ and ‘portfolio’ analytical form. The revealed-choice
dataset made use of web-based data-mining techniques, whilst the stated-choice survey is
novel in several respects to address the challenges presented by the SDCS context.
The methodological innovations proposed in this research proved successful in forecasting consumer
demand for SDCSs in the empirical application, and appear promising for wider use within the
transport domain and related research fields.
which are an evolution of car hire that began entering the commercial marketplace in the mid-
1990s. The aim of this research is to develop techniques to forecast how consumer demand for
SDCSs may develop.
On the basis of research reported in this thesis, it is argued that a person’s [strategic] decision to
subscribe to an SDCS can be reasonably considered to have a dependency with their expectation of
[tactically] using it to access particular out-of-home personal activities. It is shown that people can
also be thought to view subscribing to an SDCS as part of a larger ‘portfolio’ choice of travel options.
Traditional analyses of people’s travel choices are insensitive to these two issues.
Two datasets, one revealed-choice and the other stated-choice, were designed in order to provide
empirical data to test the proposed ‘strategic/tactical’ and ‘portfolio’ analytical form. The revealed-choice
dataset made use of web-based data-mining techniques, whilst the stated-choice survey is
novel in several respects to address the challenges presented by the SDCS context.
The methodological innovations proposed in this research proved successful in forecasting consumer
demand for SDCSs in the empirical application, and appear promising for wider use within the
transport domain and related research fields.
Date Issued
2011
Online Publication Date
2011-12-19T14:53:39Z
Date Awarded
2011-12
Advisor
Sivakumar, Aruna
Polak, John
Lee-Gosselin, Martin
Sponsor
RAC Foundation
Creator
Le Vine, Scott
Publisher Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)