From Pilots to Pandemonium; Cities, Counties and New Technology
By Matt Curtis
Founder, Smart City Policy Group
“The more you go, the more you see” – my four-year-old daughter on a hike a few years back.
The United States has been a center for new innovative technology. Many of these new technologies have seemingly disrupted everyday life at city and county buildings where policy makers and government staff have struggled to keep up with the tempo of change.
The pace of these new innovations always reminds me of the smart, and unburdened, mind of my four-year-old, “the more you go, the more you see”.
Even she figured it out – as we innovate, we see even more possibilities to innovate further.
My first jaunt into this world came with a few new phrases which were coined by the technologists in an attempt to seem more palatable to governments; ‘collaborative consumption’ and ‘the sharing economy’.
Fast forward to 2017 and I was consulting on bike rentals in cities when an industry fella said, “you know scooters are coming next”. I couldn’t believe it…I didn’t believe it. But, a couple months later and there they were – scooters in cities everywhere, beating down local policy makers who were trying to figure it all out.
The Pilot
Now, eight years after I first began working on Air Taxis, or eVTOLs, my own home state of Texas is becoming a testing ground for this Jetsons-like mobility. The FAA and TxDOT announced the pilot program which ‘could’ have these electric (and quiet) vehicles testing across the Lone Star State…and, across counties and cities.
The experience I witnessed when creating pilot programs in Florida before the pandemic makes it clear; local governments should be involved for multiple reasons, including the ultimate goal of creating the ‘buy-in’ where communities invest in the landing pads (vertiports) needed to create a greater system.
This FAA/TxDOT announcement comes just one month after a regional summit on Air Taxis (eVTOLs) brought together dozens of city and county leaders from one Texas area to talk about how to work together and plan for this flying future.
The outcome for Air Taxis seems to be flying in the right direction. Local leaders are anxious to do this right.
The Pandemonium
While excited announcements about air mobility carrying passengers is catching all the attention, the other air mobility carrying our shopping packages has guided its way under the radar; the coming of Drone Deliveries.
So many conversations have revolved around the ‘how’ of Drone Delivery – how are we going to have a package dropped at our front door by a drone? And, while so many folks are focused on the delivery no one is asking about the take-off and landing zone.
Imagine this; if thousands of delivery drones are taking off and landing per hour to ensure we all get our shaving cream, and coffee pods…from where are they taking off, landing and getting re-supplied?
The answer; a drone delivery landing zone which could see hundreds, even thousands, of Delivery Drones per hour.
This chaotic swarm of delivery vehicles will certainly be louder as a flock, but more likely to cause significant disruption, too. One mishap could lead to a Drone taking out the electric lines…causing area outages, and putting further load strain on the grid.
A Pandemonium is the term for a swarming flock of loud Parrots.
The Delivery Drones at the swarming point of take-off and landing can be described as, “A Pandemonium”.
A Regional Approach
How should local governments address the Delivery Drones? In the same manner our Texas Air Taxi Summit came together – a Regional approach.
City and County leaders can look into the Drone Delivery concept and better understand the coming innovation while creating an effective policy for the new innovation and capturing the best of the potential economic impact.
We are better when we work together. And, my experience with Regional governments working on these complex issues always see the same consistent outcome.
Things will be flying in the air. We can create effective rules together as regions and capture the best of these concepts while avoiding unnecessary chaos.
Technology is advancing at an increasing tempo. And, like my daughter says, industry is “going more and seeing more”. We just have to create good outcomes for our communities…and our kids.
