Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc. will soon revolutionize travel as it aims for the skies with its flying taxis.
During Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas on Tuesday, Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden revealed that the company will be launching its flying in taxis in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas as well as Dubai by 2020.
Aiming to cut down travel time, Uber’s flying taxis will be small, electric aircraft which can take off and land vertically with zero emissions. Unlike typical helicopters, these flying taxis will be quiet enough to operate in cities.
Holden explained that flying taxis represent “the pinnacle of urban mobility — the reduction of congestion and pollution from transportation, giving people their time back, freeing up real estate dedicated to parking and providing access to mobility in all corners of a city.”
The ride-hailing service has already teamed up with companies like Mooney, Aurora, Pipistrel, Embraer and Bell Helicopter to manufacture flying taxis. It is also working with ChargePoint Inc, a US electric vehicle charging station, to come up with an exclusive charger for its network.
Furthermore, Uber has teamed up with Hillwood Properties for four vertiports with multiple takeoff and landing pads as well as charging infrastructure.
It is estimated that Uber can get $1.32 per passenger mile during early scale operation. But in the long run, the company expects the cost of riding flying taxis will be the same as riding cars.
Still, the company must be able to convince passengers as well as aviation authorities that the untested technology is safe.
Uber, which is valued at $68 billion, has recently been rocked by a number of controversies such as accusations of sexual harassment from a former female staff and a video showing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick scolding an Uber driver.
--Mini, The Summit Express
During Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas on Tuesday, Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden revealed that the company will be launching its flying in taxis in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas as well as Dubai by 2020.
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| Will Uber make air transportation part of our daily lives? PHOTO CREDIT: Auto review |
Holden explained that flying taxis represent “the pinnacle of urban mobility — the reduction of congestion and pollution from transportation, giving people their time back, freeing up real estate dedicated to parking and providing access to mobility in all corners of a city.”
The ride-hailing service has already teamed up with companies like Mooney, Aurora, Pipistrel, Embraer and Bell Helicopter to manufacture flying taxis. It is also working with ChargePoint Inc, a US electric vehicle charging station, to come up with an exclusive charger for its network.
Furthermore, Uber has teamed up with Hillwood Properties for four vertiports with multiple takeoff and landing pads as well as charging infrastructure.
It is estimated that Uber can get $1.32 per passenger mile during early scale operation. But in the long run, the company expects the cost of riding flying taxis will be the same as riding cars.
Still, the company must be able to convince passengers as well as aviation authorities that the untested technology is safe.
Uber, which is valued at $68 billion, has recently been rocked by a number of controversies such as accusations of sexual harassment from a former female staff and a video showing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick scolding an Uber driver.
--Mini, The Summit Express
