电动垂直起降飞行器能否帮助奥斯汀急救人员突破交通拥堵？城市探索eVTOL项目

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin officials are exploring whether electric aircraft could help paramedics reach patients faster when traffic gridlock slows emergency response, a concept city leaders say could eventually help save lives.

At an October 1 meeting of the City of Austin's Mobility Committee, city officials discussed what it would take to start an eVTOL, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, program in Austin.

"If we can start looking at ways in which we can get to victims of heart attacks, car crashes or whatever incident that much quicker... we can start to potentially save lives with the potential technology," said Assistant City Manager Mike Rogers.

ACL and UT football games show challenges for emergency responders

City officials said these air taxis would help first responders in an emergency, especially during events such as Austin City Limits and University of Texas football games.

Austin-Travis County EMS Division Chief Christopher Lester cited a recent University of Texas football game as an example of how congestion complicated emergency responses.

"Downtown was locked down and a lot of 911 calls came in, and even our folks on UTV could not get to the patients. If we had video, you could see people just dragging stretchers down the road to be able to get to patients," said Lester.

While traffic and access remain challenges during major events, Austin-Travis County EMS said the vast majority of medical incidents during Austin City Limits are handled by a private medical provider contracted by festival organizer C3 Presents.

ATCEMS transported eight patients from the festival grounds to area hospitals during the most recent ACL weekend. Officials also said the festival recorded the lowest 911 call volume within the event footprint since the agency began tracking those calls about a decade ago.

City officials emphasized that the aircraft would supplement existing EMS resources rather than replace ambulances or STAR Flight.

Why experts say air taxis are no longer science fiction

"(eVTOLs) can take off from existing helipads and heliports. And most big cities and most hospitals have a helipad or heliport. So there's existing infrastructure," said Puneet Singh, an assistant professor with UT's Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics department.

Singh said there are a wide variety of eVTOLs, from smaller aircraft to larger ones capable of transporting several people. The technology is rapidly evolving, but showing progress.

"Right now, most of these aircraft are in their certification or in their prototype stages, where they have people flying on board, flying between airports or flying around in safe, designated zones so they can understand the operations, understand the limitations and the performance of these systems," Singh said.

Singh said that because they can take off vertically, these aircraft could help with emergency situations anywhere there is a flat space, like a park or parking lot. They can also skip traffic, cutting trips down from a half hour to just a few minutes.

"They can deliver a medical personnel to an emergency location, or they can help bring back somebody who's affected in an accident, bring back a patient back to the hospital if if it has the size capability for it," Singh said.

"We're really excited about what this could do to help augment our response to our 911 system already and are very, very pleased with being in the forefront of this as a city in a state," said Lester.

Texas is already testing air taxi routes

Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a new pilot program to bring air taxis to major cities across the country.

The program, part of a partnership between the FAA and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), are now testing air taxi routes connecting Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.

The first flight took off on September 10.

“This is going to be the next domain of transportation, the next golden age of aviation,” said Sergio Roman, TxDOT’s director of emerging aviation technology.

Rogers said the city is still in the early stage of this discussion. They are pursuing a pilot program with local eVTOL company Lift Aircraft.

"This isn't something that is coming. This is something that is here and we are. And I hate to say this, but we're a bit behind and we need to ensure that we have the discussion with our community and start with the development alongside with these pilots," Rogers said.

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