2025/01/01 by Andreas Schwarz, Tatjana Faj · 1 voice
Engineering · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Transportation and Mobility Innovations #Human-Automation Interaction and Safety #Risk Perception and Management
paper · pdf · doi:10.5771/2192-4007-2025-3-421
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Recently, autonomous driving has received significant attention in risk and science communication research due to its increasing public visibility. However, media research has not differentiated between individual autonomous mobility (IAM) and autonomous public transport (APT), although autonomous and/or automated buses are being tested on the roads of many European municipalities. The reference to science in the media discourse has not been a major focus. Therefore, we analyzed regional and national German news media from 2018 to early 2023 using quantitative content analysis. The findings revealed three frames: Neutral traffic/business stories, safety and governance concerns, and benefits of science and technology. APT was framed more positively, while IAM was more often framed in terms of risk/safety concerns. References to science were scarce, with implications for science communication and reporting.