Commuting: The rise of urban air mobility?

Transport is at the core of current debates around decarbonization. In light of the stringent climate targets, the sector must significantly reduce emissions via more efficient vehicles, different energy sources, or less travel. The additional reduction of noise and traffic congestion can further decrease the adverse effects on the population. Urban air mobility (UAM) or advanced air mobility is seen to be a solution for these issues. Electric, vertical take‑off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft can now travel longer distances thanks to developments in distributed electric propulsion, batteries, and autonomous systems. With the promise of a quieter, safer, and more affordable operation than traditional helicopters, this new service has piqued the interest of numerous businesses worldwide. About 200 companies are developing VTOL vehicles for UAM (Straubinger et al., 2021a). UAM covers short‑range air mobility with eVTOL vehicles, piloted, remotely piloted, or auton‑omously operated. The definition is not restricted to operations within or between cities but also includes operation in rural regions. Within this chapter, we focus on passenger applications and leave aside emergency use cases. While in the beginning, most research focused on technological enhancements and operability, the focus has shifted in recent years to include a broader range of topics. Since 2020, more research is assessing the sustainability of UAM (see Figure 10.1). Within this chapter we aim to discuss the basics of UAM—especially in the context of commuting—and relate them to the three pillars of sustainability (Purvis et al., 2019), namely, economic, social, and ecological sustainability.

Schaumeier, J. und Anna Straubinger (2025), Commuting: The rise of urban air mobility?, in: The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Urban Transport, 126-137