Uber’s ‘flying cars’ set to land by 2020
UNITED STATES: Uber plans to demonstrate its first ‘‘flying cars’’ in US cities by 2020, the ridehailing company says, moving one step closer to a future where workers take to the air for their daily commutes.
The first places to get a glimpse of the futuristic vehicles would be the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Dubai, both within three years, the company said yesterday during the Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas. Uber hopes to conduct passenger flights at the World Expo in Dubai in 2020.
‘‘Flying cars have been promised for decades but are arriving now,’’ Jeff Holden, Uber’s chief product officer, said during the conference’s opening keynote address. ‘‘We have a lot of work to do, though. This isn’t going to be easy.’’
The summit, a three-day event attended by manufacturers, regulators and investors, marks Uber’s most detailed update on its Elevate programme since the company first announced its interest in flying vehicles last October.
Holden outlined a future where Uber would send a standard vehicle to take the rider to a ‘‘skyport’’, where he or she would board a flying car, which would likely be shared with other passengers.
A trip from San Jose to San Francisco in California, which often takes at least an hour and a half in traffic, would take 15 minutes by air, Holden said. It would cost about the same as Uber’s standard car service.
The move comes as interest in futuristic flying cars is growing in Silicon Valley and around the world, with advocates promising that the vehicles will cut commute times and ease road congestion.
Google founder Larry Page is backing flying car projects, Airbus has said it is working on a vehicle, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia plans to start shipping a flying car in two years, and Slovakia-based AeroMobil has started taking preorders for a US$1 million vehicle. Some companies are looking into adding self-driving technology to their airborne cars.
Uber won’t build the flying cars itself. Yesterday it revealed partnerships with aircraft manufacturers Aurora Flight Sciences, Pipistrel Aircraft, Embraer, Mooney and Bell Helicopter.
The company is also working on creating a charger for electric flying cars, and is working with real estate companies in Texas and Dubai to build landing pads. It has chosen four locations in the Dallas area and expects to start work in the next year. - TNS