State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced) has positioned herself at the cutting edge of future transportation with Urban Air Mobility legislation.

What’s UAM?

“Urban Air Mobility envisions a safe and efficient aviation transportation system that will use highly automated aircraft that will operate and transport passengers or cargo at lower altitudes within urban and suburban areas,” states the Federal Aviation Administration.

After introducing SB 800, Caballero said in a news release that UAM “will reduce the current burden on road infrastructure, decrease traffic congestion, and lower harmful emissions. This new industry will leverage innovative electric aerial vehicle designs and system technologies and embrace the sharing economy to enable a novel transportation service network. California must have the regulatory framework to develop this new technology in order to compete with other states.”

The bill begins the process of evaluating state and federal law and potential changes to develop UAM operations and infrastructure.

As envisioned, the system would enable residents and businesses to access on-demand air mobility, cargo and package delivery, healthcare applications, and emergency services through an integrated and connected multimodal network.

Where Will UAM Aircraft Land?

According to the FAA, “the initial UAM ecosystem will use existing helicopter infrastructure such as routes, helipads, and Air Traffic Control services, where practicable given the aircraft characteristics. Looking toward the future, the FAA is working to identify infrastructure design needs for these aircraft. FAA expects to develop a new vertiport standard in the coming years.”