Envisioning Urban Air Mobility in Small and Medium-Sized Urban Areas in the United States

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) represents a revolutionary innovation that utilizes low-altitude urban space to provide air transportation. While UAM offers numerous advantages and holds promise as a solution to traffic congestion, it faces various constraints, including public acceptance, economic considerations, and management challenges. While extensive research has explored the integration of UAM into mobility systems for large metropolitan areas, the potential benefits it could bring to smaller urban areas with populations under 350,000 have been under-discussed. This dissertation research aims to assess the feasibility and viability of implementing UAM in small and medium-sized urban areas. The first major study in this dissertation involves a national survey to investigate Americans' willingness to pay for URAM services and their preferences when faced with commutes that exceed a certain duration. The second study evaluates the impact of UAM on over 300 small and medium-sized urban areas by comparing the travel accessibility of existing road-based regional transportation systems with hypothetical UAM-integrated systems. These hypothetical UAM networks interconnect vertiports within regions, enabling travelers to reach their destinations via Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircrafts after reaching the nearest vertiport by ground transportation. The third study explores an innovative intermodal mobility system that integrates Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) and VTOLs within the UAM framework. Agent-based simulations are employed to assess the feasibility and viability of this system in small and medium-sized urban areas. This dissertation sheds light on the benefits and trade-offs associated with UAM in small and medium-sized urban areas. It serves as a valuable resource for evaluating the practicality of intermodal UAM services and informs policies related to the planning and implementation of UAM services in the United States.