Reimagining the Future of Transportation with Personal Flight: Preparing and Planning for Urban Air Mobility

On January 12, 2020, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies hosted a workshop titled “Reimagining the Future of Transportation with Personal Flight: Preparing and Planning for Urban Air Mobility” at the 99th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C. This paper summarizes key findings from the workshop, such as the role of safety, community acceptance, multimodal vertiport infrastructure, and automation shaping the future of UAM. This paper discusses thoughts on the evolution of UAM; policy challenges and needs; barriers to community acceptance; potential strategies for overcoming key challenges; and research needs for maximizing opportunities and mitigating key risks to prepare for UAM.