I was recently Reading Hosteltur news about the German flying taxi project. In fact it is a joint venture of Airbus and Audi with the German Government support.
And I want to share my thoughts about this. Because this is an ambitious and futurist vision that could change our way of living in the cities. And also because it is not the first time I am reading about this topic. Flying taxis it today an image out of a futurist movie and it will turn into reality soon.
In example, this Audi flying machine has the approval from the German Government to test it in and around the city of Ingolstadt, the headquarters of Audi.
This project name is Pop.Up Next and it is an electrical flying vehicle. And it is not alone. Uber also presented at the beginning of this year their Uber Air Concept. They have the same idea than Audi, a prototype of flying vehicle that will serve as private transportation, meaning, the Uber of the future. Furthermore, Uber announced the take off of this service for year 2020. Yes, you are reading correctly, only in two years time. And I am asking myself, is this possible?.
At the same time, we learned about test and trials done with autonomous car with no driver. Those tests are not yet successful and have ended causing accidents with strong social response about ethics and regulations. Therefore, we are all still waiting for cars driving itself and taking us around. Stop driving looks to me as a wonderful dream. ¡What a waste of time and energy for a human!.
Larry Page, co-founder of Google has initiated another important project around this idea. Kitty Hawk, his society is testing flying cars since 2017. They are doing all trials in the region of Caterbury, in New Zealand. Its name is Cora and it is a sort of helicopter taking off and landing vertically in the city. So as the other prototypes, it does not need an airport.
Chinese are moving forward in this direction too. And Ehang, a Chinese company has created a flying electrical drone with capacity to fly 2 passengers on board. Its name is Ehang 180 and it has being tested with success.
I believe the real challenge of all these companies and projects is not really about technology. As it seems created, produced and in work. But it is about regulations. Current cities do not have the infrastructure to integrate this type of services. I mean, the spaces to take off and land safely. Furthermore, there are no rules to fly them around. In fact these machines fly between 200 and 300kms per hour. And they do it between 300 to 600 metres high. The good news, they seem to be less noisy than helicopters.
I have no doubts than flying taxis will impact strongly tourism. This could be a key element for touristic transport. Not only in the cities but also around. It could connect destinations easily for short distances. I can already foresee the use of this flying taxi for private touristic tours, easy and personalised to the maximum. It is obvious to us that this type of developments can only be of use for the humanity. As all companies do agree prices will be similar to the current taxi cost. Which means it is a very affordable service for many people.
We can wait to see this becoming a reality and test it. We trust governments will support these initiatives. And city transportation will become easier for all of us. Therefore a great advantage for the tourism industry.