Green, safe, and Cost-Effective? An integrated structural analysis of public acceptance of urban air mobility

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has attracted significant attention as a potential strategy to address traffic congestion and sustainability challenges in global cities. Yet, the viability of UAM ultimately hinges on public acceptance, which in turn depends upon key perceptions of safety, trust, cost, and environmental impact. This study develops and tests a comprehensive model of UAM acceptance by integrating the constructs of perceived safety (PS), perceived usefulness (PU), price sensitivity (PSen), environmental awareness (EA), trust (TR), and behavioral intention (BI). Drawing upon technology acceptance models, risk perception theory, and environmental psychology, we analyze survey responses (N = 427) through structural equation modeling (SEM) to elucidate the drivers, barriers, and moderating factors influencing the potential uptake of UAM services. Results highlight that perceived safety positively influences trust, which mediates the effect of safety on behavioral intention. Perceived usefulness emerges as the strongest direct predictor of intention, while high price sensitivity curtails adoption. Environmental awareness exerts a modest positive impact on acceptance and moderates the adverse effect of high price sensitivity. These findings underscore the importance of transparent safety standards, strategic fare designs, and the communication of environmental benefits for promoting UAM adoption. The study contributes to research in UAM adoption by revealing how multiple dimensions—technical, psychological, economic, and ecological—interact to shape public acceptance of disruptive mobility innovations.