As part of the "Vision Smart City" initiative, the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences asked a total of 1,203 people about their personal attitudes to air taxis. In contrast to previous studies, in which participants had to imagine the air taxi technology themselves, this was the first study of its kind in which the respondents were actually able to experience an air taxi flight. For the first time, a realistic opinion of the population could be gained.
The most important study results show:
- Flight taxis are no longer dreams of the future; a majority of those surveyed can already imagine using them. Especially the time saving but also the fun in using the system are currently seen as the biggest advantages.
- Social acceptance is also high. Almost 80 percent of the participants are in favour of an offer from the Volocopter in Stuttgart. The respondents were particularly positive about the effects on the mobility offer and the perception of the city of Stuttgart as a location for innovation.
- Almost half of those surveyed currently believe that air taxis will one day become an everyday means of transport.
- People who have experienced the live flight of the Volocopter rated it much quieter than expected. The intention of use remains at the same high level even after experiencing the flight.
- The results also show that people with more prior knowledge about air taxis have a higher intention to use them and fewer reservations, so a further increase in acceptance can be expected as the technology becomes more widely known.
In addition to the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, the Lab1886 of Mercedes-Benz AG, Volocopter GmbH as well as the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Stuttgart were involved in the project, which was supported by the BMVI's mFUND research initiative, and were accordingly represented on the Museum Hill on 14 and 15 September.