This study aims to estimate passenger demand for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and analyze the feasibility of operating the system in Northern California. UAM is a concept mode of transportation that is designed to bypass ground congestion for time-sensitive, price-inelastic travelers using autonomous, electric aircraft with Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capabilities. This study focuses specifically on commuting trips, which are frequent and considered relatively more time-sensitive than other types of personal trips. The UAM mode's feasibility is studied using sensitivity analysis of UAM demand to cost per passenger mile and the number of vertiports placed in the region. This study also explores the spatial distribution of UAM demand in Northern California, which further helps in identifying the major commuter trip-attraction and trip-production zones for the UAM mode in the region. The results indicate that sufficient UAM demand for commuting trips can only be reached at optimistically low UAM offered fares. These fare levels could be challenging to obtain given the high real estate cost in Northern California's urban regions. Moreover, the reliability of the UAM mode must be comparable to the automobile mode; otherwise, it loses significant demand with increasing delays. The results also show that the commuting flows with promising UAM demand in Northern California are heavily one-directional, with San Francisco Financial District being a major attraction. Other types of trips should also be considered along with commuting trips to generate an economically viable system and reduce deadheading.

这项研究旨在估算乘客对城市空中交通（UAM）的需求，并分析在北加利福尼亚州运行该系统的可行性。UAM是一种概念运输方式，旨在通过具有垂直起降（VTOL）功能的自主式电动飞机，为时间敏感，价格弹性小的旅客避免地面拥堵。这项研究特别侧重于通勤旅行，通勤旅行比其他类型的个人旅行更为频繁，并且被认为对时间更敏感。使用UAM需求对每乘客英里成本和该区域内垂直港口数量的敏感性分析，研究了UAM模式的可行性。这项研究还探索了北加州UAM需求的空间分布，这进一步有助于为该地区的UAM模式确定主要的通勤人员出行吸引区和出行产生区。结果表明，只有在乐观的UAM提供的票价较低的情况下，才能满足通勤旅行的足够UAM需求。考虑到北加利福尼亚市区的房地产成本高昂，要获得这些票价水平可能会具有挑战性。而且，UAM模式的可靠性必须与汽车模式相当。否则，随着延迟的增加，它会失去大量需求。结果还表明，在北加利福尼亚，UAM需求旺盛的通勤流量基本上是单向的，其中旧金山金融区是主要吸引力。其他类型的旅行也应与通勤旅行一起考虑，以产生经济上可行的系统并减少空头现象。