Intermodal service crucial for commercial success of flying taxi’s
Indeed, the success of the E-VTOL as a commercial vehicle will depend largely upon its ability to fly new routes from the city center to city center between major metropolitan areas. Regulators equate the risk and uncertainty of obtaining appropriate vertiport sites to the other key risks such as VTOL aircraft R&D exceeding current time and cost estimates, it’s acquisition, operation, and maintenance costs exceeding current estimates, and unpredicted changes in airline price structure.
Failure to obtain satisfactory demand-center locations for vertiports for these reasons would compromise the commercial success of VTOL services.
This downtown to downtown link will save the business traveler the time consuming and an often stressful trip from the central business district to the airport and upon arrival at the destination, from the airport to the central business district. Because the EVTOL’s can fly 100 knots, it can make the trip from say, Dubai to Abu-Dhabi in the same time or less than a jet that may fly 600 knots maximum air speed. The jet must spend considerably more time taxiing, waiting to take off, climbing to altitude and to its route, and maneuvering for position to land.
A strong emphasis has to be placed upon the value of intermodalism in the passenger transportation system. It is most visible in containerized freight systems, in which a Lift On/Lift Off container ship docks in a harbor with direct crane loading access to both a railroad spur and a tractor truck staging area. At this intermodal point, it becomes possible to transfer freight between any of the three vehicles.
Intermodalism in passenger transportation should work essentially in the same manner; that when a passenger reaches the intermodal terminal, it is possible to transfer with minimum effort to another means of transportation. From E-VTOL, passengers may transfer intermodally to automobiles, buses, rail, subway, ferry, or to a jet aircraft. These synergies are important for ensuring passenger options to continue on their route and to find a successful connecting service.
I am a Tech Entrepreneur with cross-functional and multi-disciplinary expertise. I have been lucky enough to work for Big brands in South Asia like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited where I worked on Military aircrafts involving Design, development, testing, modeling, integration, and qualification of various systems on aircraft employing standards, and procedures. I now work as a system designer for the Air taxi industry at McFly Aero infrastructure Ltd, the largest and fastest-growing advanced air mobility company focused on building the ecosystem in smart cities pan Asia-pacific region, rebuilding the World’s transportation system. Managing Governments, entrepreneurs, industry partners, private stakeholders, and top institutions across the world to potentially collaborate and provide smart solutions for creating smart cities.
I speak 3 languages (English, Arabic, Mandarin). When I am not writing or building businesses, you can catch me kicking a football, designing apparatuses, watching a Sci-fi movie or reading a book.
Originally published at http://evtolblog.wordpress.com on May 16, 2018.
