Uber Air announces trial city for flying taxis

Ridesharing company Uber Air announces Melbourne as a trial site for its new ‘flying car’ taxi service that will shuttle people around cities by 2023.

The Australian city will join Los Angeles and Dallas as the third official pilot city for Uber’s ambitious project, reports The Guardian.

The company will begin test flights next year. The service will operate through the Uber app and will be priced the same as an UberX as claimed by the company.

Uber spokesman Eric Allison said that this idea will reduce traffic congestion . “The 19km journey from the CBD to Melbourne airport can take anywhere from 25 minutes to around an hour by car in peak hour, but with Uber Air this will take around 10 minutes,” he said.

The international cities being considered to launch the aviation project includes Tokyo and Osaka in Japan; India with Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore; Australia in Melbourne or Sydney; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Paris, France, as revealed by Uber last year.

RMIT University aerospace engineer expert Matthew Marino said “We need to prove to people that this technology can be as safe as helicopters, which regularly fly in our cities.” He also said that more research and development are needed in this area.