Long-term application potential of urban air mobility complementing public transport: an upper Bavaria example

Area of Science:

• Transportation science
• Urban planning
• Mobility as a Service (MaaS)

Background:

• Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging transport concept.
• Integrating UAM with existing public transport networks is crucial for its success.
• Assessing UAM's potential demand and impact is vital for future urban development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and quantify the potential demand for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in the Munich Metropolitan region.
• To evaluate the impacts of UAM as a complement to public transport.
• To identify key factors influencing UAM adoption and demand.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an existing agent-based transport model, extended for socio-demographic changes up to 2030 and intermodal UAM services.
• Developed an incremental logit model for UAM demand simulation and an airport access model.
• Defined three UAM network scenarios with varying vertiport numbers and conducted sensitivity analyses on fares, speed, and process times.

Main Results:

• In the reference case, UAM achieved a 0.5% modal share.
• UAM demand was concentrated on very short routes, showing low impact from flight speed variations.
• Kilometer-based fare, vertiport vehicle numbers, and passenger process times significantly influenced UAM demand.

Conclusions:

• UAM's integration into urban transport networks is feasible but requires careful consideration of operational factors.
• Fare structure and vertiport efficiency are critical drivers for UAM demand, more so than vehicle speed.
• Further research should focus on optimizing UAM network design and operational parameters to maximize its benefits.