STOL Passenger Demand in Underdeveloped Areas

In order to stimulate economic growth of some underdeveloped areas, means must be found to improve the presently inadequate transportation service. Due to the considerable costs of providing high-type ground transportation facilities in the rugged terrain, efforts should be made to determine the feasibility of implementing an ideal air transport that will provide an economic boost. After an extensive investigation of the technological development of STOL aircrafts, a travel demand model is employed to predict the passenger market potential of a preliminary STOL system in rugged areas as typified by a representative Appalachian region, West Virginia. The results indicate that the passenger service demand for a STOL system will be limited. However, knowing the outstanding benefits of the short-haul air transportation in mountainous regions, greater demand will obviously come through lower system operating costs and improved terminal accessibility.