Commuting in the Age of the Jetsons: A Market Segmentation Analysis of Autonomous Ground Vehicles and Air Taxis in Five Large U.S. Cities

This paper presents details of a market segmentation analysis conducted using data from a stated preference survey we designed to model competition among an electric air taxi service, autonomous ground vehicles, and traditional ground vehicles for an urban commuting context in the United States. The survey was administered from March 26 to May 10, 2019 and responses were obtained from 1,405 full-time workers with annual household incomes of at least $75K who reside and work in the Atlanta, Boston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Francisco Bay Area, or Los Angeles combined statistical areas (CSAs). Factor analysis of respondents’ perceptions of electric vertical take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft identified two dimensions: Concern and Enthusiasm. Cluster analysis of the scores on these factors identified nine meaningful clusters, which differed on a variety of demographic, travel behavior, and attitudinal variables, as well as on respondents’ inclination to adopt eVTOL commuting.