NEXA, an advisory firm in the aerospace industry, has been commissioned to conduct an in-depth study of the market demand, financial feasibility, regulatory framework and infrastructure needs for potential vertiports, air taxi service and drone deliveries at The Point.
“Drone delivery technology has been welcomed in Utah with great success. For over two years, South Jordan City has partnered with Zipline to deliver everything from critical medicine to cookies right to residents’ front doors,” said Representative Jordan Teuscher, co-chair of the Land Authority. “In studying the feasibility of potential drone delivery and air taxi service at The Point, we are taking a phased approach to responsibly planning for the future while ensuring our plans are grounded in reality.”
NEXA has led AAM projects around the country and globally. The team will analyse a variety of ways that air taxis and drone delivery services could be used at The Point, including for medical needs, cargo delivery, on-demand ridesharing, airport shuttles and commuting. They will catalogue the size and number of potential vertiports, forecast passenger demand, delineate air corridors and estimate ticket prices. In addition, they will identify specific areas at The Point that are projected to have high demand for air taxi services and recommend how those areas could integrate with existing ground transportation options to reduce congestion and travel time for commuters.
“Our team is thrilled to be working with the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority to conduct this ground-breaking study. The forward-thinking plans established for the first development phase provide us with an excellent blueprint for integrating a transportation system in the air that connects safely and seamlessly with the transportation system on the ground,” said Dr Tulinda Larsen, principal at NEXA Advisors. “We aim to provide actionable insights and recommendations for policymakers, transportation planners and industry stakeholders to consider as Utah’s Innovation Community takes shape.”
Utah and AAM
Utah is one of the only states in the United States undertaking a comprehensive, statewide approach supported at the highest levels of state and local government, industry and academia. The announcement comes just months after the Utah Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics conducted a first-of-its-kind vertiport demonstration and 47G, Utah’s aerospace industry association, launched Project Alta. The latter is a public-private partnership with a mission to establish an air transportation system by 2034 when Utah hosts the Winter Olympic Games.
“The Legislature has given us a mandate to create a future-focused transportation system at The Point that seamlessly moves people. To achieve this mandate, we are carefully assessing a wide variety of multimodal solutions that include not only roads and transit but also drones and air taxis,” said Land Authority co-chair Lowry Snow. “We are taking incremental steps to ensure we remain at the forefront of innovations that benefit all Utahns through better mobility, enhanced job access and improved air quality.”
The former site of a prison, The Point is a 600-acre space well served by infrastructure and located at the heart of Utah’s fast-growing technology industry. According to the Land Authority, the site offers ‘unprecedented potential to create an innovation hub that catalyses technological advancement, fosters mixed-use urban areas, and preserves parks and open space’.
