Analysis of electric-powered taxis: A cross national study

With rapidly increasing interest in several significant environmental and transportation issues, namely, greenhouse gas emissions, there have been several attempts to transition the current transportation systems and vehicles to more environment-friendly vehicles. Following this trend, this study aimed to investigate drivers' motivations for adopting electric-powered taxis in two representative nations, South Korea and the U.S. This study conducted a main survey and collected data from professional taxi-drivers in the U.S. and South Korea to explore the differences between the two nations. In addition, an integrated adoption model for electric-powered taxis was proposed and a structural equation modelling method was employed to test the model. The results indicated that usefulness, services and system quality, and trust were positive factors that could predict driver acceptance of electric-powered taxis, while perceived risks and cost showed negative effects on acceptance. In addition, the driver acceptance patterns of two nations are significantly different. The results also illustrated that there are different sets of circumstances with various implications for practice and academia. Based on the findings of the current study, we examine its implications and limitations, as well as the potential for future studies.