Forget traffic jams, hail a cab from the sky
Flying taxis could be hitting Singapore by 2030
The days of sitting in a taxi while it's stuck in a traffic jam could soon be a thing of the past for people in Singapore. Singapore’s Ministry of Transport has revealed that it is in talks with companies to start trials on flying taxis.
These futuristic vehicles are part of a drive to expand the range of urban mobility options, and Singapore plans to have them ready by 2030.
The ambitious plans were revealed by the Ministry of Transport's top official, Pang King Keong, at the Business Times Leaders' Forum in Singapore this week.
Mr Keong said the ministry is already in talks with some companies to start trials on drones that can carry passengers.
Alongside these flying vehicles, Singapore is also working on an ondemand bus service as part of its public bus network.
While Mr Keong said that availabili- ty and affordability of data and the rise of artificial intelligence is helping the ministry's plans come to fruition, he added that Singapore's transport industry is up against land and manpower constraints.
This will result in a different transport landscape by 2030, according to Mr Keong, although trains will remain the core of the public transport system.
Mr Keong believes that we will soon see a shift from owning vehicles, to paying for different mobility services tailored to different types of journeys.
Mr Keong said: 'There is going to be a significant shift in the public mindset from one of ownership of transport assets -- which is the mindset today -- to one of procurement of transport services as and when you need them.'
At the conference, Mr Keong showed three human-carrying drones that have already been prototyped.
With passenger in tow, The Volocopter VC200 took to the skies for a three minute flight using its 18 rotors and electric propulsion. Not only does this offer more widespread use in conventional aircraft domains, but it brings us one step closer to air taxi services and full transportation systems in the third dimension, the firm says.
Firstly, the Hoversurf Scorpion was shown, which merges a standard motorbike design with drone quad-copter technology to allow riders to manoeuvre in the air as if they were riding a bike.
Next, the Volocopter VC200, a multicopter with 18 rotors and electric propulsion was revealed.
And finally, the Ehang 184 autonomous aerial vehicle, a self- flying passenger drone that resembles a small helicopter was shown to the audience.
Mr Keong said: ' In 2030, you bet your money that aerial transport will also be a means of urban mobility.'
In terms of the on-demand public bus service, Mr Keong said that buses will ply low- ridership routes that are dynamic and responsive to riders' realtime demand during off-peak hours.
This will elimante the problem of empty buses, which Mr Keong described as a ' terrible waste' of taxpayers' money.
And it won't be long before this new bus service hits the streets, as Mr Keong said that the ministry ' probably will share something later this year.'
EHang and Lung Biotechnology hope to use 1,000 drones to deliver artificial human organs to hospitals around the US.