Benefits and Challenges of Urban Air Mobility as Future Public Transportation in Malaysia:

Abstract

Urban air mobility (UAM), an emerging advanced aerial transportation within the urban and sub-urban areas, attracts the interest of numerous countries including Malaysia. Since developing this new transportation ecosystem involves heavy investment, it is pertinent to ensure that all stakeholders acknowledge its benefits and challenges before the actual implementation. This study intended to investigate the benefits and challenges of UAM implementation in the Klang Valley, Malaysia from the perspective of drone practitioners, as one of the affected stakeholders. This study employed a qualitative research design using unstructured interview technique to collect responses from 4 drone practitioners. Findings from thematic analysis revealed four major benefits (i.e. contribution to country’s economic development, improve business efficiency, sustainable transportation, and efficient travel) and four main challenges (i.e. perception on public safety, public belief & trust, legislation readiness & compliance, and infrastructure readiness) emerged from responses. Future research should explore further on the UAM acceptance from multiple stakeholders to gain a more balance perspective on UAM implementation.