An Internet-Based Stated Choices Household Survey

The development of alternative fuelled vehicle technology is a key strategy towards environmental sustainability and improved air quality in cities. Analysis of the role of vehicle technology in fulfilling sustainability targets requires estimates of future vehicle demand. The inability to observe actual car-type preferences for cleaner vehicles has led researchers to the development of stated choice methods. This paper reports on the design and descriptive analysis of a stated choices survey on the demand for alternative fuelled vehicles in the Census Metropolitan Area of Hamilton, conducted through the Internet. Respondents were asked to select the vehicle they would most likely buy out of a set of conventional, hybrid and alternativefuel options over a time horizon of five years. Characteristics such as vehicle purchase price, fuel and maintenance cost, acceleration, alternative fuel incentives, fuel availability and pollution levels were used to describe each vehicle presented. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind that focuses at the urban level and the Canadian context and also, it is the first to demonstrate the timeand cost-efficiency of the Internet in designing and collecting Stated Choices data for automobile demand. Date of receipt of final manuscript: August 2006 An Internet Based Stated Choices Household Survey for Alternative Fuelled Vehicles Potoglou and Kanaroglou