A Third of Canadians Wary of Ottawa Regulating Emerging Aerial Tech: Study

Electric Air Taxi in New York on Nov. 13, 2023, in a still from video. AP/Screenshot via NTD

A third of Canadians say they have “low trust” in the federal government’s ability to handle the regulation of advanced aerial technology such as air taxis and drones, according to a study.

The survey results were documented in a study by the Department of Transport regarding the social acceptance of “Advanced Air Mobility,” which was first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) refers to electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that can move people and cargo between places not currently or easily served by existing transportation modes. AAM includes human-piloted aircraft as well as robotic or automated systems.

“A third of respondents, 31 percent, have low trust in the Government of Canada to handle the implementation of the technology,” the study’s authors said.

Regarding passenger vehicles such as air taxis, only 21 percent of respondents said they would ride in a robot-piloted aircraft and 41 percent said they would only fly in a vehicle if it were piloted by a human being.

“The deployment of advanced air mobility may offer social, economic and environmental benefits including improved access to remote communities, new business opportunities and the potential for increased safety and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” the Department of Transport study said.

“However low levels of social acceptance by the Canadian public may limit the uptake in Canadian society,” the study added.

The study, entitled “Public Opinion Research Study on Examining the social acceptance of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) by the Canadian public,” was contracted to the firm Leger Marketing last year.

The study found Canadians were more open to robot-piloted AAM for emergency services such as search and rescue operations, firefighting, and emergency medical care.

The majority also said AAM could be used for cargo transport but were slightly more divided on applications for tourism and home deliveries.

So far, air taxis have yet to take off in Canada but in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said last July that it expects air taxis could begin operations in the country as soon as 2025.

Air taxis, unlike aeroplanes, are not reliant on airports or runways as they are able to vertically take off and land, allowing them to operate in more dense areas like cities where they can transport small numbers of people short distances. Air taxis also run on electric power, rather than gasoline or jet fuel.

The FAA developed the Innovate28 plan to address various issues surrounding the implementation of air taxis, including the certification of pilots and how to manage airspace access for air taxis in the future.

Some have expressed concerns regarding air taxis, however, such as the noise from the aircraft in urban areas, safety concerns, as well as issues of privacy for air taxis flying over residential areas.

Despite concerns, the concept of air taxis is progressing, with electronic aircraft maker Joby Aviation performing its first demonstration electric air taxi flight in New York City in November 2023.

The six-minute flight saw the aircraft fly across Manhattan in downtown New York City, piloted by James “Buddy” Denham. According to the maker, the aircraft has a range of up to 100 miles and can travel at around 200 miles per hour.