Officials are readying for the expansion of flying vehicle use, and reviewing how the city will be able to regulate electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing, or eVTOL, aircraft in Austin's skies.

“They’re coming. It’s not a matter of when, it’s a matter of how they’re going to be coming across this country," Assistant City Manager Mike Rogers said.

The big picture

The outlook for eVTOLs in Austin is unclear for now, but Rogers stressed that city leaders and planners should prepare to see them in a few years' time.

Companies like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation are already making air travel plans in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Rogers highlighted the latter's partnership with Archer for taxi service during the 2028 Summer Olympics, and a federal push to fast-track the aviation technology, as key milestones for the sector.

“We are in a new frontier right now when it comes to eVTOL. There’s a rapid investment that is taking place within this country, there’s multiple millions of dollars that are being invested in a couple of companies," he said. "The president also passed an executive order; that executive order is allowing the FAA to speed up the certification process. Now, that’s huge."

The approach

There's no formal eVTOL footprint in Austin just yet, although residents may have noticed aircraft demonstrations downtown earlier this year during South by Southwest Conference & Festivals. Given projected growth, Rogers said there's plenty for the city to consider to ensure eVTOLs launch safely and in line with local goals.While some air traffic management and other policy oversight could come from the federal and state levels, Rogers noted that the aircraft bring "significant impacts" for land-use and zoning, how eVTOL "vertiports" are placed in existing buildings or communities, connectivity to other modes of transportation, and impacts on local land value. The city will also have to manage its relationships with the U.S. and Texas governments depending on how regulations roll out.

Rogers referenced historical transportation updates like the national highway system's development as negative processes Austin should try to avoid. He also pointed to the more recent local expansions of autonomous vehicles and robotaxis like Waymo, and the city's limited ability to oversee those technologies under state law.

“They came, we didn’t work with them, and they went and got their regulations. Now we can’t regulate; we have no authority," he said. "I’d rather sit with them across the table now and help to develop this technology where it doesn’t harm our cities and our community.”What's next

Aside from work with private companies, a Federal Aviation Administration pilot program could offer the city a chance for earlier integration into the eVTOL space. Governments interested in joining that FAA program must apply by Dec. 11, but Rogers said it remains to be seen if and how Austin can participate.

“There’s an opportunity for the city, potentially, to be a part of that. I don’t know how the selections will be made, but I would love to be part of the discussions instead of having something just be thrust upon us as a community," he said.

Elected officials could also dig into eVTOL issues in the months ahead. Council member Natasha Harper-Madison said she'd like to involve City Council's Housing and Planning Committee in any new zoning reviews tied to what she labeled “Jetsons taxis." And council member Paige Ellis said that, regardless of any next steps, Austin planners should make safety a top priority.

"I’m just very concerned that things are going to be falling out of the sky. And I think that’s not something that anybody wants here in Austin, Texas," she said. "I’m aware that there are different levers and mechanisms that we have between the federal and the state level that we have to be able to work with, and in between. ... I hope we can right the wrongs of the past and make better decisions as a nation on how we get from Point A to Point B; how we do that safely.”