Viewing page 451 of 507
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
442 HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM "Transit systems will probably continue to be unable to supply the kind of services air travelers demand. By their very nature, transit systems can not supply satisfactory service to the majority of airport users whose origins and destinations are widely dispersed and distributed. For the trip between the airport and the downtown concentration of origins and destinations, transit systems offer some possibilities but whether or not they would be more desirable than some other alternative would depend upon the results of a specific evaluation for the particular location in question. "The evidence indicates that a transit system must offer the passenger a great deal to entice him from his automobile if he has one. It seems apparent that transit systems must re-vitalize their concepts of the character of the service they must provide the public before they are to become acceptable possibilities for airport transportation. "Downtown and Satellite Terminals "A proposal which is receiving considerable attention is one which would locate an airline terminal in the downtown area. Passengers would purchase tickets, check in, and check their baggage, all at the downtown terminal. A specialized transportation service would take them to the airport itself. Other such terminals located at different points around the city could also be established. These proposals appear to offer considerable merit, particularly to that segment of the airport user population whose local origins and destinations are in the downtown area. The extent to which they would benefit the other users, again, would depend upon an analysis which compared the trip required to go first downtown and then to the airport with the best direct means for all origins and destinations. Such an analysis may or may not show the superiority of the downtown terminal system as compared with some alternative. "Helicopters "The helicopter industry is the only one in the field which is actively and aggressively attempting to introduce and promote a new concept in airport transportation. Basically, helicopters offer a means of significantly reducing travel times through their avoidance of ground traffic congestion. This advantage may be potentially offset by two other factors: (1) headway, and (2) location of heliports in relation to local origins and destinations. Compared with the taxi or private automobile which have essentially a zero headway, the headway of scheduled helicopters is a major contributor to a passenger's total trip time because waiting time is estimated as 1/2 headway. With the helicopter service presently available at United States airports, the waiting time often exceeds the actual travel time. However, helicopters have the potential of reducing headway by several magnitudes as their load factors increase enough to justify more frequent trips. "The second major factor--heliport location in relation to passenger's local origins and destinations--is less easily overcome. Where the heliport can be placed at the point of local origins and destinations, the helicopter appears to enjoy an inherent superiority over its nearest competitors at present. Such is the case, for example, when two airports are connected by helicopter service (assuming there is sufficient between-airport passenger volume to justify reasonable headways). It would appear from the local origin and destination patterns that service between an airport and the center of the downtown concentration of origins and destinations is likely also to be such a case (again assuming sufficient passenger volume). For passengers with origins and destinations in the outlying areas, however, the helicopter presents the same problems as any form of mass transit. Using the helicopter would mean multi-mode trips with their attendant disadvantages. For many users, it is likely that it would be as much trouble to get to the heliport as it would to go directly to the airport. To what proportion of the total airport users would apply can be determined only by a specific analysis of the origin-destination pattern under consideration. "Helicopters, therefore, appear to offer considerable potential promise for at least a partial solution to airport transportation problems. III-51
