At Uber’s “Elevate Summit” last week, the company unveiled what it believes the future of automated aerial transportation will look like. The now-public rideshare company, with the tailwind of billions of dollars in gullible capital on the public markets at its back, is ready to make its push into “air taxis”.
Bell Helicopter will be manufacturing the taxi, according to ABC, and the company’s goal is to have it operating and flying in major cities by as soon as 2023.
This aircraft will be on display outside the Reagan Building in downtown DC next week. Uber says it plans shared aerial rides in urban areas by 2023. pic.twitter.com/ndvWFjfEBx
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) June 7, 2019
Resembling a drone – only much larger – the aircraft was on display outside of the Reagan Building in downtown Washington D.C. last week.
The air taxis will operate on a simple process: customers can request a ride through the Uber app, a driver arrives and transports the customer to a veriport, where the air taxis is parked and waiting. From there, the taxi takes the customer to another veriport and lands. The customer then has the option of walking or taking another Uber ride to their final destination.
The air taxi is slated to be “fully automated” and “not requiring a pilot”.
There are reportedly 5 companies vying for Uber’s business in producing air taxis, but the company has to wait until more infrastructure is in place before moving forward.
