[Inside Chodong] Accelerating UAM Commercialization... Remember the Water Taxi

[Asia Economy Reporter Seong Giho] During the congested rush hours, when driving on Gangbyeonbuk-ro, a thought often comes to mind: "How great would it be if we could travel over the wide-open Han River or even through the sky?" This idea is not just a fantasy from a comic book. It can be realized through 'water taxis' and 'Urban Air Mobility (UAM)'.

Recently, UAM has attracted the most attention. The government is encouraging companies with the goal of commercializing it by 2025. However, during coverage related to UAM, concerns outweighed expectations. This was because the precedent of water taxis came to mind. The water taxi project was conceived as a way to bypass Seoul’s traffic congestion by crossing the Han River. From 2017 until last year, it operated during rush hours targeting commuters, but with only one or two users per day, it was effectively deemed a failure.

The biggest controversy is accessibility. The space where UAM can operate is more limited than expected. Currently, UAM demonstration projects are being considered to operate around the Han River banks for safety reasons. Even if an accident occurs during UAM operation, moving over the Han River could prevent large-scale accidents.

However, even after the demonstration projects proceed as planned, the problem remains that users must first travel to the Han River to use UAM. Very few people live near the Han River in Seoul. Additionally, major roads such as Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic-daero are located along the riverbanks, making access difficult. Traveling from one’s location to the Han River, then taking UAM, and finally heading to the destination could be slower than simply taking a car or subway directly from the starting point to the destination. Water taxis initially received attention but were gradually neglected because traveling centered on the Han River did not offer significant time savings.

Building dense stops is also crucial. In the case of water taxis, stops were too sparse, often resulting in passengers arriving far from their destinations and having to backtrack. To improve accessibility, many stops are needed, but connecting transportation must also be considered. Users must be able to easily reach UAM stops to actually use UAM.

Safety is another issue. The biggest advantage of UAM?“flying in the sky”?is also its greatest challenge. If a device malfunction or weather conditions cause an accident in the air, there is a high risk of casualties. This is a completely different issue from the minor delays or inconveniences caused by small errors in buses or subways we commonly use.

So, will the technological advancement process proceed smoothly enough to allow safe use? It is uncertain whether autonomous driving technology, which is always mentioned in relation to UAM, will be completed by 2025. A professor pointed out, “Even automotive autonomous driving technology, researched for decades, has not yet been fully commercialized. Although automatic flight systems are applied in current aircraft, if numerous UAMs fly simultaneously in a narrow urban area, more advanced technology will be required.”

The era of UAM is certain to come. However, it must be kept in mind that if UAM pilot projects proceed with immature policies like those of water taxis, the public may turn away. The biggest challenge to UAM commercialization is not technology but the ‘social psychological barrier’ arising from it being an unfamiliar mode of transportation. There is still time. To lower this social psychological barrier, efforts should focus on establishing a well-developed UAM system that allows as many users as possible to utilize it.