[Sky Taxi Takes Off] Writing 'My Liberation Diary' with UAM

Commuters in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Waste 3 Hours a Day... What If Sky Taxis Take Off?

The farther you are from your workplace, the farther happiness drifts away. The global mobility platform company Uber clearly understood this point. This is the background behind their introduction of the concept of UAM (Urban Air Mobility), also known as ‘sky taxi,’ to the world in 2016. In a nearly 100-page report, Uber pointed out that "workers in major urban centers worldwide waste an average of more than 90 minutes commuting daily." Most commuters remain seated or standing still, naturally leading to a lack of physical activity. Leisure time is also hard to come by.

Last month, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong mentioned the recently concluded popular JTBC drama My Liberation Diary during a presidential briefing. The drama depicted the exhausting daily lives of three siblings commuting from a fictional city in Gyeonggi Province to Seoul. President Yoon Suk-yeol said, "I understand the message of the drama," and ordered the opening date of the GTX (Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area Express Railroad) to be advanced as much as possible.

Global companies such as Uber and GM, along with domestic firms like Hyundai Motor Company and SK Telecom, see UAM as a faster and more definitive solution than the GTX. The government also places national expectations on UAM. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport launched the ‘Mobility Innovation Committee’ and began drafting a roadmap with the goal of commercializing UAM by 2025. Where does UAM stand now, and what obstacles does it face?

The official name of the sky taxi (UAM) is ‘Urban Air Mobility (UAM).’ It refers to a next-generation advanced transportation system that safely and conveniently transports people and goods in urban environments based on electric-powered, eco-friendly, low-noise aircraft and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) facilities. Also called flying cars, air taxis, or drone taxis, it is recognized worldwide as a major future innovation industry receiving full-scale efforts. South Korea has also selected the UAM business as a key future innovation project. According to the K-UAM roadmap, demonstration flights are planned for 2024, initial commercial services in 2025, and full-scale commercialization by 2030.

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

◆Risk of Becoming Like the Han River Water Taxi... Challenges for Sky Taxis= Sky taxis (UAM) are not the first pioneers of mobility innovation. The Han River helicopter and Han River water taxi appeared spectacularly before but are widely regarded as failures. Although the government plans to commercialize by 2025, there are countless obstacles that sky taxis must overcome to take off.

Headlines such as ‘11 minutes from Seoul Station to Incheon Airport’ and ‘500 won per kilometer fare’ have attracted favorable attention to sky taxis, but in reality, not many people are willing to board them readily. According to a survey by the Korea Transport Institute, 80% of citizens said they are willing to use sky taxis, but those unwilling cited "safety concerns (39.9%)" as the biggest reason.

Contrary to rosy prospects, there are concerns that sky taxis may not actually be convenient. Building terminals where sky taxis can vertically take off and land within the city is considered core infrastructure for the sky taxi ecosystem. The government promoted the Han River helicopter project in 2013. However, the helicopter pads were limited, resulting in low accessibility and high costs. The Han River water taxi also suffers from poor accessibility and lack of connecting transportation, with daily users not even reaching ten.

Securing economic feasibility through technological innovation is also crucial. To reduce operating costs, prices of aircraft and parts (batteries, motors) must fall, and traffic management systems must be automated. In the long term, fully autonomous flight must be realized. Considering labor costs and high development expenses, profitability is difficult to expect without autonomous technology.

◆The Han River as a Key Route... Security and Aviation Regulations Must Also Be Overcome= As important as safety, convenience, and economic feasibility, a major stumbling block for sky taxis is government regulation. There are countless cases where new growth industries have been slowed by slow-changing laws and systems.

The mobility industry identifies the Han River riverside and the adjacent central Seoul area as the most likely locations for urban demonstration and the first commercial routes for sky taxis. The problem is that with the presidential office relocation, the middle of Yongsan and the Han River have been designated as no-fly zones. According to aviation notices regularly issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the new no-fly zones include a 2-mile radius around the Yongsan War Memorial and a 1-mile radius around the presidential residence, Acro Vista, in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Major urban centers and the Han River riverside in Seoul are all included in the no-fly zones. A UAM industry insider said, "The Han River is an optimal testing ground because it can minimize damage in emergencies and has less environmental impact on the surroundings, but it is meaningless if the no-fly zones are not lifted."

The government views regulatory innovation and transparent roadmap provision as key tasks for UAM commercialization. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is known to have initiated early discussions with the Ministry of National Defense and Seoul City to resolve no-fly zone regulations. The ‘Mobility Innovation Committee’ was also launched in June to discuss mobility innovation policies. The committee plans to immediately start discussions in four subcommittees and review key tasks to be reflected in the mobility innovation roadmap. Minister Won Hee-ryong said, "If the innovation committee, composed mainly of the private sector, discovers innovative tasks, the government will mobilize all policy means to support them."

Legislative researcher Gu Se-ju from the National Assembly Legislative Research Office said, "For future UAM commercialization, related laws and systems need to be established," adding, "This should include specific definitions of UAM transportation means, technical standards for aircraft, operation standards, traffic management standards, infrastructure-related standards such as terminals, transportation business systems, and operation qualification standards."