Uber’s Flying Taxis in India By 2023; Talks On Between Uber & Indian Govt. For Approval!
Uber's flying taxis can save upto 90% time in urban cities like Mumbai
The next big thing in the transportation world is flying taxis, and India will be at the epicenter of this new innovation. Uber has confirmed that Mumbai will be part of their first flight of flying taxis by the year 2023.
Infact, talks between Uber and Indian Govt. has already started, and very soon, a decision will be made!
Uber: Mumbai Among 1st Cities To Have Flying Taxis!
Eric Allison, chief executive, Uber Aviation Program, has confirmed that Uber’s aerial taxi service will be launched in Mumbai by the year 2023. Infact, talks between Uber and Indian Govt. over regulations, norms and rules have already started.
Along with Mumbai, two US cities: Los Angeles and Dallas will become the first cities to have Uber’s flying taxis.
For executing their flying taxis, Uber has chosen these 5 countries: India, Japan, Australia, Brazil and France.
Out of them, Mumbai will be the only non-US city to have a flying taxi service as soon as 2023. The first round of testing will start from 2021.
Eric said, “This is the type of urban mobility game changer that this kind of solution brings.”
How Flying Taxis Will Work?
Uber’s aerial taxi service will have two major components: Flying taxis, and dedicated points where these flying taxis will land and fly, called ‘Skyports’.
As per Uber’s initial plans, high-rise terraces and rooftops will be used for creating Skyports, where passengers can hop into such flying taxis, and then get down at the other sky port.
The flow of bookings remains the same: Book an aerial taxi via app, then arrive at the specific skyport to start the ride.. err, flight.
The flying taxis will have rotating rotors, just like helicopters have, albeit on a smaller scale. The wings will be made smaller, and they will fly low as well, so that the prime aero-space is free for aircrafts and jet plans.
This is how it will work:
The flying taxis will be designed in a way so as to keep the sound under control, thereby preventing sound pollution.
But Why Mumbai?
As per Uber’s Eric, Mumbai has been chosen because it’s congested, and their flying taxis can save upto 90% of time.
In a demo shown few days back, Uber showed how commute time from western suburbs to downtown Churchgate in South Mumbai can reduce by 90% – Against 100 minutes of travel time, flying taxis will bring down the time to just 10 minutes.
The mechanism for vertical landing and flying remains a challenge as of now, which Uber is working on.
At the time of writing, Eric and Uber team is talking with Civil Aviation Ministry and other Govt. officials for finalizing their aerial taxi program.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
