Urban Air Mobility Systems: Shaping Future Mobility and Societal Transformation

Guest editors:

Associate Professor Hongliang Ding
Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China

Professor Hui-Jun Sun
Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China

Assistant Professor Kun Wang
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

Professor Shaopeng Zhong
Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

Special issue information:

As an important component of future urban transportation, Urban Air Mobility Systems (UAMS), including electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxis and drone-based logistics, have the potential to improve the efficiency of passenger travel and last-mile logistics, strengthen supply chain resilience, and support more sustainable urban mobility and freight systems. They may also reshape urban accessibility, influence travel demand, and transform individual mobility patterns. However, as these technologies move from pilot projects toward broader implementation, their implications extend far beyond transportation alone, raising critical questions related to infrastructure, safety, regulation, governance, public acceptance, equity, and environmental impacts.

This Special Issue aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform for research on how UAMS are shaping the future of mobility and society, while informing evidence-based policy and planning that are directly relevant to readers of Travel Behaviour and Society. Contributions are invited on technological innovation, system operations, policy and governance, behavioural responses, logistics applications, sustainability, and broader societal implications. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Changes in travel demand, mode choice, time use, and activity patterns;

• Public acceptance and socio-psychological factors (e.g. safety, privacy);

• Advances in analytic methods and modelling for UAMS (e.g. big data, simulation, demand forecasting);

• Equity and accessibility outcomes;

• Policy, governance, and regulatory issues (e.g. airspace management, infrastructure);

• Environmental sustainability.

We particularly welcome contributions that analyze the effects of urban air mobility, drone delivery, and related low-altitude transport systems on these dimensions.

Manuscript submission information:

Authors are advised to select the article type of 'VSI: UAM: Future Mobility' in the submission system of the journal, to make sure the submissions are grouped under this special issue for peer review. 

Keywords:

Urban Air Mobility Systems (UAMS)；Policy, Governance, and Regulation；Public Acceptance and Societal Impacts

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