Fry, A.; Ryley, T.; Thring, R. The Influence of Knowledge and Persuasion on the Decision to Adopt or Reject Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Sustainability2018, 10, 2997.
Fry, A.; Ryley, T.; Thring, R. The Influence of Knowledge and Persuasion on the Decision to Adopt or Reject Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2997.
Fry, A.; Ryley, T.; Thring, R. The Influence of Knowledge and Persuasion on the Decision to Adopt or Reject Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Sustainability2018, 10, 2997.
Fry, A.; Ryley, T.; Thring, R. The Influence of Knowledge and Persuasion on the Decision to Adopt or Reject Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2997.
Abstract
Alternative fuel vehicles, such as battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, support the imperative to decarbonise the transport sector, but are not yet at a stage in their development where they can successfully compete with conventional fuel vehicles. This paper examines the influence of knowledge and persuasion on the decision to adopt or reject alternative fuel vehicles, underpinned by Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory. A household questionnaire survey was undertaken with respondents in the Sutton Coldfield suburb of the United Kingdom city of Birmingham. This suburb was previously identified as having a strong spatial cluster of potential early adopters of alternative fuel vehicles. The results confirm that among respondents the knowledge of alternative fuel vehicles was limited and perceptions have led to the development of negative attitudes towards them. The reasons largely relate to three problems: purchase price, limited range, and poor infrastructure availability. The majority of respondents have passively rejected alternative fuel vehicles, such that they have never given consideration to adoption. This confirms that a concerted effort is required to inform the general public about alternative fuel vehicles.
Keywords
travel behavior analysis; cleaner cars; alternative fuel vehicles; diffusion of innovations; adoption; passive rejection
Subject
Engineering, Civil Engineering
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
