Commuters might be flying to their offices and errands soon with Uber’s Air Taxi.
The ride-hailing company just unveiled new details about its upcoming air taxi services. And this time, Uber came with a prototype where CBS News got to see at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit.
Uber is aiming for 2020 to start running test flights in Dallas or Los Angeles. The company also plans to start commercial service as soon as 2023.
“We think cities are going to go vertical in terms of transportation and we want to make that a reality,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CBS News.
“We want to create the network around those vehicles so that regular people can take these taxis in the air for longer distances when they want to avoid traffic at affordable prices,” Khosrowshahi adds.
Jeff Holden, Uber’s chief product officer, says the ride is meant to be community friendly. It will work similar to a helicopter with stacked rotors to create lift. However, it will be running on electricity and will have small propellers making it quieter.
At launch, the Uber Air Taxi will be piloted. Eventually, the company plans to make it autonomous.
Would you be willing to try this mode of transportation? Let us know!
