University of South Florida researchers are prepping Tampa Bay for air taxi operations through a simulation tool. The tool predicts up to 50,000 passengers might use the service each day by 2045. USF’s Smart Urban Mobility Lab created a platform that allows policymakers to test how electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles would function in the area.
Dr. Yu April Zhang runs the lab. She directs the Advanced Air Mobility program for USF’s Center for Urban Transportation Research. Zhang said the Federal Aviation Administration could certify eVTOL aircraft within the next year, which would offer short-distance air travel to help commuters bypass ground traffic.
“It basically complements the modes we already have on the ground and in the air, and provides more frequent short distance air mobility to urban areas by avoiding the congestion on the ground,” Zhang said to Spectrum News 9…