Uber Technologies Inc. and Hyundai are Making Flying Taxis

The electric air taxi looks like a bomber aircraft

When it comes to creating flying vehicles, Uber Technologies Inc. is winning the race. Only last year the company announced that Melbourne would be the first Australian city to get Uber Air – the flying ride-sharing service of the company. Now, the popular brand has partnered with Hyundai to create the flying ride-sharing electric taxis for the venture.

 

In this partnership, Hyundai will develop and deploy the cars while Uber Technologies Inc. will provide support. The latter will include airspace support services, customer interfaces throughout the rideshare network and connections to ground transportation.

Both Hyundai and Uber Technologies Inc. have worked together to create a Personal Air Vehicle, abbreviated as PAV which is on display at the CES. Interestingly, it gives off a 1940s retrofuturism vibe. Some people think it’s a cross between WWII Bombers and a rocket. It is capable of vertical take-off and landing so it will not need a runway.

 

The future-oriented behaviour of Uber Technologies Inc. will make people think beyond land transportation and food delivery (Uber Eats) when they think of the ride-sharing brand. To strengthen that resolve, Uber is partnering with Telstra, Macquarie, the Melbourne Airport and Scentre Group so that an urban aviation network can be built.

The flying electric taxis will likely have a cruising speed of 290 km per hour. They will also probably have a cruising altitude between 1,000 and 2,000 feet. They will use electric propulsion to power different propellers and rotors to decrease noise pollution and a single point of failure. It is believed that the vehicles will have up to 7-minute recharge time and maybe will be capable of being driven autonomously in the future.

Uber Technologies Inc. first announced the ambition of going into the air in 2016 by using a white paper that highlighted the Uber Elevate project.

There is no word yet on when the flying electric taxis will be in the air because it’s early days yet. Uber Technologies Inc. and Hyundai, and many other companies that are aiming for the sky have to deal with gigantic technical and regulatory challenges before they can take the taxis off the ground.