IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i19p10612-d642360.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Roadmap to Early Implementation of Passenger Air Mobility: Findings from a Delphi Study

Author

Listed:
  • Kshitija Desai

    (Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering, TUM Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Christelle Al Haddad

    (Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering, TUM Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Constantinos Antoniou

    (Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering, TUM Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany)

Abstract

Urban air mobility (UAM) has recently increased in popularity as an emerging mode of transportation, covering a wide range of applications, for on-demand or scheduled operations of smaller aircraft, in and around metropolitan areas. Due to its novelty and as it has not yet been implemented, UAM research still faces uncertainties. In particular, there is a need to develop a roadmap for the early implementation of passenger air mobility, aiming to identify the most prominent challenges, opportunities, hazards, and risks, but also to highlight the most promising use cases, or on the contrary, the ones associated with the least benefits compared to the risks or complexity they entail. To answer the previous questions, and therefore address this research gap, this study used a two-round Delphi questionnaire, targeting various stakeholder groups (product owners, policymakers, researchers, consultants, investors), leading to a total of 51 experts, out of which 34 also participated in the second round. In the first round, the main challenges, opportunities, and hazards facing the implementation of passenger UAM were identified. Findings on challenges and opportunities that were dependent on use cases only (as opposed to being dependent on technology or external factors) were then fed back into the second round, which helped evaluate the use cases based both on their complexities, as well as the associated benefits. Accordingly, medical/emergency was identified as the best use case and intracity transport as the worst (in terms of complexity vs. benefits). Similarly, a risk analysis evaluated the potential hazards associated with the implementation of UAM and their impacts on the system viability. Community backlash was found to be the most hazardous one, while malicious passenger behavior and improperly designed infrastructure as the least. Findings from this study can help better understand stakeholders’ opinions, highlighting promising use cases, but also risks to be aware of, constituting therefore a roadmap for future implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kshitija Desai & Christelle Al Haddad & Constantinos Antoniou, 2021. "Roadmap to Early Implementation of Passenger Air Mobility: Findings from a Delphi Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10612-:d:642360
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10612/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10612/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Straubinger, Anna & Rothfeld, Raoul & Shamiyeh, Michael & Büchter, Kai-Daniel & Kaiser, Jochen & Plötner, Kay Olaf, 2020. "An overview of current research and developments in urban air mobility – Setting the scene for UAM introduction," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Al Haddad, Christelle & Chaniotakis, Emmanouil & Straubinger, Anna & Plötner, Kay & Antoniou, Constantinos, 2020. "Factors affecting the adoption and use of urban air mobility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 696-712.
    3. Shaheen, Susan PhD & Cohen, Adam, 2019. "Shared Micromoblity Policy Toolkit: Docked and Dockless Bike and Scooter Sharing," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt00k897b5, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Changju & Bae, Bumjoon & Lee, Yu Lim & Pak, Tae-Young, 2023. "Societal acceptance of urban air mobility based on the technology adoption framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    2. Annitsa Koumoutsidi & Ioanna Pagoni & Amalia Polydoropoulou, 2022. "A New Mobility Era: Stakeholders’ Insights regarding Urban Air Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Brunelli, Matteo & Ditta, Chiara Caterina & Postorino, Maria Nadia, 2023. "SP surveys to estimate Airport Shuttle demand in an Urban Air Mobility context," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 129-139.
    4. Ariza-Montes, Antonio & Quan, Wei & Radic, Aleksandar & Koo, Bonhak & Kim, Jinkyung Jenny & Chua, Bee-Lia & Han, Heesup, 2023. "Understanding the behavioral intention to use urban air autonomous vehicles," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yavas, Volkan & Yavaş Tez, Özge, 2023. "Consumer intention over upcoming utopia: Urban air mobility," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Pons-Prats, Jordi & Živojinović, Tanja & Kuljanin, Jovana, 2022. "On the understanding of the current status of urban air mobility development and its future prospects: Commuting in a flying vehicle as a new paradigm," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    3. Hwang, Ji-Hyon & Hong, Sungjo, 2023. "A study on the factors influencing the adoption of urban air mobility and the future demand: Using the stated preference survey for three UAM operational scenarios in South Korea," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    4. Lee, Changju & Bae, Bumjoon & Lee, Yu Lim & Pak, Tae-Young, 2023. "Societal acceptance of urban air mobility based on the technology adoption framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Ariza-Montes, Antonio & Quan, Wei & Radic, Aleksandar & Koo, Bonhak & Kim, Jinkyung Jenny & Chua, Bee-Lia & Han, Heesup, 2023. "Understanding the behavioral intention to use urban air autonomous vehicles," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    6. Kähler, Svantje T. & Abben, Thomas & Luna-Rodriguez, Aquiles & Tomat, Miriam & Jacobsen, Thomas, 2022. "An assessment of the acceptance and aesthetics of UAVs and helicopters through an experiment and a survey," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Samadzad, Mahdi & Nosratzadeh, Hossein & Karami, Hossein & Karami, Ali, 2023. "What are the factors affecting the adoption and use of electric scooter sharing systems from the end user's perspective?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 70-82.
    8. Karimi, Sina & Karami, Hossein & Samadzad, Mahdi, 2024. "The role of travel satisfaction and attitudes toward travel modes in the prospect of adoption of urban air taxis: Evidence from a stated preference survey in Tehran," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    9. Janotta, Frederica & Hogreve, Jens, 2024. "Ready for take-off? The dual role of affective and cognitive evaluations in the adoption of Urban Air Mobility services," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    10. Long, Qi & Ma, Jun & Jiang, Feifeng & Webster, Christopher John, 2023. "Demand analysis in urban air mobility: A literature review," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    11. Ehrhardt, Nick & Horlacher, Paul Herrmann & Straubinger, Anna, 2024. "Innovation strategies for non-existent markets - Profiting from urban air mobility," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    12. Boddupalli, Sreekar-Shashank & Garrow, Laurie A. & German, Brian J. & Newman, Jeffrey P., 2024. "Mode choice modeling for an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi commuting service," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    13. Velaz-Acera, Néstor & Álvarez-García, Javier & Borge-Diez, David, 2023. "Economic and emission reduction benefits of the implementation of eVTOL aircraft with bi-directional flow as storage systems in islands and case study for Canary Islands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    14. Yavuz, Yigit Can, 2024. "Exploring university students’ acceptability of autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    15. Anna Straubinger & Erik T. Verhoef & Henri L.F. de Groot, 2021. "Will urban air mobility fly? The efficiency and distributional impacts of UAM in different urban spatial structures," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-021/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.
    16. Decker, Christopher & Chiambaretto, Paul, 2022. "Economic policy choices and trade-offs for Unmanned aircraft systems Traffic Management (UTM): Insights from Europe and the United States," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 40-58.
    17. Lv, Di & Zhang, Wei & Wang, Kai & Hao, Han & Yang, Ying, 2024. "Urban Aerial Mobility for airport shuttle service," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    18. Rath, Srushti & Chow, Joseph Y.J., 2022. "Air taxi skyport location problem with single-allocation choice-constrained elastic demand for airport access," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    19. Kalakou, Sofia & Marques, Catarina & Prazeres, Duarte & Agouridas, Vassilis, 2023. "Citizens' attitudes towards technological innovations: The case of urban air mobility," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    20. Shah, Nitesh R. & Ziedan, Abubakr & Brakewood, Candace & Cherry, Christopher R., 2023. "Shared e-scooter service providers with large fleet size have a competitive advantage: Findings from e-scooter demand and supply analysis of Nashville, Tennessee," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10612-:d:642360. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.