Exploring the determinants of demand-responsive transit acceptance in China

Demand-responsive transit (DRT) is gaining prominence in urban public transportation research, especially in rapidly modernizing transit systems of developing countries such as China. Despite DRT's advantages, challenges such as low market demand and utilization persist. To ensure DRT's successful integration and promotion, understanding public acceptance and its determinants is vital. This study expands the technology acceptance model (TAM) by incorporating trust, personal innovativeness, subjective norms, service quality, and perceived risk as pivotal factors influencing DRT acceptance. An online survey was conducted where a total of 627 valid responses were collected via snowball sampling. Structural equation modeling and path analysis were employed to dissect the factors influencing DRT adoption intentions. The results reveal that the proposed extended model accounts for 78.1% of the variance in DRT usage intentions. Trust exerts the most substantial influence on the usage intention of DRT, directly shaping user intentions and indirectly influencing them through various associated constructs. Service quality indirectly impacts intentions through perceived usefulness and personal innovativeness. Personal innovativeness and subjective norms have both direct and indirect impacts, whereas perceived risk solely indirectly affects intentions negatively. The research highlights the critical role of trust and service quality in shaping public DRT intentions and the importance of personal innovativeness and subjective norms in driving adoption. It also emphasizes the necessity of addressing perceived risk for acceptance. Theoretical and practical implications guide policymakers and operators in enhancing DRT services in China's evolving transit environment.