It’s one way to beat the traffic: the taxi that takes to the air

UBER has said it could be running a flying taxi service in just four years’ time.

Passengers using the smartphone app will be collected from pick-up points on the top of a tall office building, a multistorey car park or a shopping centre.

And they will be able to beat gridlocked roads by flying in one of Uber’s electric planes at speeds of between 240kph and 320kph, the company said.

The planes could cover up to 100km on a single charge, with batteries boosted again within five minutes.

The plan is not aimed at the elite; the company hopes to offer its flying taxi service at a price only a third higher than the cost of a normal taxi.

For example, it could cost $60 (€53) to complete a 40km journey in an ordinary Uber taxi, but $90 (€80) using UberAir.

A spokesman said UberAir will make its debut in the American cities of Los Angeles and Dallas in 2023, with global expansion planned in the years after that.

The service’s rollout to other cities worldwide will depend on successful launches in those locations.

The electric planes, which will fly between 300metres and 600metres above ground, have become ‘a core need’ in cities where traffic-congested routes are at breaking point, according to Uber.

Pilots will fly up to four passengers through ‘virtual lanes’ after collecting them from the pick-up points.

Once the project is completed, users could order and board one of the ‘flying cars’ in as little as five minutes.

The average flight will be 40km. Uber says that such a journey might take 69 minutes in a traditional taxi but 33 minutes using UberAir. The flight would be 11 minutes, with the rest of the time taken walking or taking a traditional taxi to and from the pick-up and drop-off point.

Uber is working with five companies on designs for its flying taxis and is still developing plans on how the vehicles would fly in bad weather.

The company has conceded that it may need to train a new workforce of pilots.

Thomas Prevot, its director of airspace systems, said Uber will initially work with trained ex-commercial airline pilots.

A 40km journey would cost about €80

However, he added: ‘As we build this out, we already have a pilot shortage, so we have to find ways to attract additional pilots. We hope that these vehicles can be flown more simply than helicopters and hopefully we could have a quicker training programme so that we can increase the pool of people.’

Ride-hailing service Uber has come in for criticism in other countries for treating its drivers as self-employed entrepreneurs rather than workers.