Urban Air Mobility

Since then, boomers have fantasized and passed their Dick Tracey nostalgia on to their children and grandchildren. So much so that when launching the Apple Watch, CEO Tim Cook said, “I’ve been waiting to do this since I was five years old.”

Among the cool gadgets of those decades were the air or flying taxis. Would boomers have remotely envisioned that electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, known today as eVTOLs, would one day become a mobility option?

Advanced Air Mobility services, utilizing eVTOLs, will complement transportation options in dense metropolitan areas, such as Miami, to improve traffic congestion, increase connectivity and reduce carbon emissions. Given Miami’s current and projected population growth, eVTOLs could become an inter-city/intra-city flight reality to connect passengers and improve the community’s quality of life while enhancing economic development.

In a plan released recently by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency will allow the operation of air taxis in significant numbers in 2028. FAA deputy administrator Katie Thomson said, “this plan shows how all the pieces will come together, allowing the industry to scale with safety.”

Essentially, the path to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) airworthiness or, more broadly, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is inching closer to becoming a reality. Considering Miami’s climate, traffic congestion, appetite for innovation, adoption of emerging technologies, and cross-municipal collaboration, the city could be an excellent candidate to become the first locality to test on-demand eVTOLs. This project could be a game changer for Miami, propelling it to greater heights in the global scene.

Yet these aircrafts need a ground hub to take off and land from. eVTOLs use what is known in the industry as heliports or vertiports. Infrastructurally, both vertiports and heliports are similar. Differentiators between heliports and vertiports are that the latter need electrification to charge eVTOLs, support higher throughput of aircraft for more flights, and include additional landing aids for piloted and unpiloted aircraft.

In Miami, the rapid population growth and inherent urban development have left the city with only a few options for available parcels of land with sufficient space to build a vertiport. While vertiports can be located at grade, on viable parking garage rooftops, or in other locations, factors such as airspace considerations, electric grid capacity, and structural feasibility will play a role in site selection. Alternatively, new multi-purpose infrastructure could be built from the ground up for vertiports, blending seamlessly into the neighborhood fabric and supporting economic development.

Sites for vertiports are expected to be agnostic, a term industry experts frequently use, meaning they will be built to accommodate a wide array of brands that manufacture eVTOLs, much like an airport where multiple types of aircrafts take off and land. Land-use policies must guide optimal vertiport locations in safe, demand-driven sites connected to other transportation modalities.

The COVID pandemic accelerated the global scarcity of pilots. That may be why some air taxis will be crewed while others will be pilotless. Crewed eVTOLs will require a pool of trained and certified aircraft pilots. On the other hand, pilotless ones will need a smaller pool of professionals trained to supervise multiple aircrafts and intervene, if necessary, remotely. Piloted or pilotless, all aircraft will further new workforce opportunities in operating eVTOLs in the air and managing and maintaining them at the vertiports.

Moreover, working with local colleges and universities, UAM/AAM companies could take part in designing high-school curricula that could deliver the next generation of the eVTOL workforce. The students could acquire new skills that create local jobs and deliver the next generation of pilots, mechanics, electricians, maintenance support staff, etc.

One thing is for sure; parking infrastructures could play a vital role in this emerging scenario. Whether vertiports are located on viable garage rooftops or near parking facilities that support micro-mobility options, such as the Miami Parking Authority-sponsored Freebee circulator, they will connect passengers to their destination and facilitate first and last-mile solutions. In any case, this industry has a ground-floor opportunity to be a part of the new era of air mobility.

Unquestionably, each community has distinctive values, character, and lifestyle regarding infrastructure. Therefore, vertiport developers are encouraged to design a new non-traditional category of assets that conforms seamlessly to the fabric of each locality and delivers benefits that enhance the neighborhood’s quality of life.

Finally, yet critical, community outreach is vital to securing public buy-in and must be predicated on the right intentions and proactive dialogue with the public. This can only be achieved through a meaningful public engagement process that ensures that vertiports are created for the people they are intended to serve.

Neither Dick Tracey nor our parents could have foreseen the technological advances that make our lives easier today. In the same breath, they could not have predicted today’s exponential global population growth and its impact on urban life. Cities worldwide are stressed by traffic gridlock and its economic, social, and environmental impact on society. This is one of the consequences of urban life; however, new and emerging technologies can help redefine cities by improving mobility, public services, and the community’s well-being.

UAM/AAM is expected to become a reality to help catalyze the vision of a connected, decongested, and economically vibrant world. ◆