Airport Landside Mobility — APM Implementation Issues

No two airports are exactly alike. Similarly, the appropriate time or activity level to implement a specific transport technology varies by airport and can be influenced by a number of different factors. For Automated People Movers (APMs), which provide high level-of-service at a relatively high cost, there are certain thresholds that are typically exceeded before a system is implemented. This paper describes the different factors and thresholds typically considered with a landside APM implementation. In addition, the landside mobility analysis at Dublin International Airport will be presented. There are different factors that potentially lead an airport into implementing a landside APM. Each factor has a potential threshold that once "exceeded" would lead to implementation. The importance of any single factor varies by airport. The typical factors include: (1) Passenger/employee volumes and facility spacing, (2) terminal access spacing, (3) terminal roadway capacity, (4) regional rail station proximity, (5) indirect costs, (6) airport land use, (7) airport's desired transport level-of-service, (8) political considerations, and (9) competitive position to rival airport. Not all of these factors applied to the landside mobility analysis performed at Dublin International Airport in 2003. The Dublin specific factors will be highlighted against a range of landside technologies considered including APMs, buses and moving walks.