Location privacy acceptance: attitudes to transport-based location-aware mobile applications on University campus

Abstract: Location-based services feature in many information systems however attitudes to location privacy, and the impact of user attitudes to transport app usage, are less common. This paper builds on a usecase, the implementation of UNISHUTTLE, a smartphone transport app developed by the authors, that provides users with real-time bus location and arrival information from an Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system. In exchange, the AVL system tracks and warehouses user interactions with the transport network. The paper describes a pre- and post-implementation survey of user attitudes toward location privacy, and explores how some app features of the transport app trade-off against privacy concerns.