Urban air mobility (UAM) is an emerging concept proposed in recent years that uses electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). UAM is expected to offer an alternative way of transporting passengers and goods in urban areas with significantly improved mobility by making use of low-altitude airspace. In addition to other essential elements, ground infrastructure of vertiports is needed to transition UAM from concept to operation. This study examines the network design of UAM on-demand service, with a particular focus on the use of integer programming and a solution algorithm to determine the optimal locations of vertiports, user allocation to vertiports, and vertiport access- and egress-mode choices while considering the interactions between vertiport locations and potential UAM travel demand. A case study based on simulated disaggregate travel demand data of the Tampa Bay area in Florida, USA was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model. Candidate vertiport locations were obtained by analyzing a three-dimensional (3D) geographic information system (GIS) map developed from lidar data of Florida and physical and regulation constraints of eVTOL operations at vertiports. Optimal locations of vertiports were determined to achieve the minimal total generalized cost; however, the modeling structure allows each user to select a better mode between ground transportation and UAM in terms of generalized cost. The outcomes of the case study reveal that although the percentage of trips that switched from ground mode to multimodal UAM was small, users choosing the UAM service benefited from significant time saving. In addition, the impact of different parameter settings on the demand for UAM service was explored from the supply side, and different pricing strategies were tested that might influence potential demand and revenue generation for UAM operators. The combined effects of the number of vertiports and pricing strategies were also analyzed. The findings from this study offer in-depth planning and managerial insights for municipal decision-makers and UAM operators. The conclusion of this paper discusses caveats to the study, ongoing efforts by the authors, and future directions in UAM research.

城市空中交通（UAM）是近年来提出的使用电动垂直起降车辆（eVTOL）的新兴概念。UAM 有望通过利用低空空域提供一种在城市地区运输乘客和货物的替代方式，显着提高流动性。除了其他基本要素外，还需要垂直起降场的地面基础设施来将 UAM 从概念过渡到操作。本研究检查了 UAM 按需服务的网络设计，特别关注使用整数规划和求解算法来确定垂直起落架的最佳位置、垂直起落架的用户分配以及垂直起落架访问和出口模式选择，同时考虑垂直起降场位置和潜在的 UAM 旅行需求之间的相互作用。进行了基于美国佛罗里达州坦帕湾地区模拟分解旅行需求数据的案例研究，以证明所提出模型的有效性。通过分析根据佛罗里达州的激光雷达数据开发的三维 (3D) 地理信息系统 (GIS) 地图以及垂直起降场 eVTOL 操作的物理和法规限制，获得了候选垂直起落场位置。确定垂直起落架的最佳位置以实现最小的总广义成本；然而，建模结构允许每个用户根据广义成本在地面运输和 UAM 之间选择更好的模式。案例研究的结果表明，虽然从地面模式切换到多模式 UAM 的旅行百分比很小，但选择 UAM 服务的用户受益于显着的时间节省。此外，还从供给侧探讨了不同参数设置对UAM服务需求的影响，并测试了可能影响UAM运营商潜在需求和创收的不同定价策略。还分析了垂直港口数量和定价策略的综合影响。这项研究的结果为市政决策者和 UAM 运营商提供了深入的规划和管理见解。本文的结论讨论了该研究的注意事项、作者正在进行的努力以及 UAM 研究的未来方向。还分析了垂直起降场数量和定价策略的综合影响。这项研究的结果为市政决策者和 UAM 运营商提供了深入的规划和管理见解。本文的结论讨论了该研究的注意事项、作者正在进行的努力以及 UAM 研究的未来方向。还分析了垂直起降场数量和定价策略的综合影响。这项研究的结果为市政决策者和 UAM 运营商提供了深入的规划和管理见解。本文的结论讨论了该研究的注意事项、作者正在进行的努力以及 UAM 研究的未来方向。