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Here are 5 Countries to Test Uber Flying Taxi Services

Here are 5 Countries to Test Uber Flying Taxi Services
UberAir, flying taxi © Uber

First, there was Dallas and Los Angeles. Now Uber wants a third city to fly its air taxi service, and it's looking internationally.

Uber this week announced its shortlist for countries the ride-hailing app would work with to launch its aviation project UberAir, a flight-sharing network with electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOLs) aircraft.

A model of Uber's "flying taxi," an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, is displayed at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit on May 8 in Los Angeles. Image: Robyn Beck / AFP-Getty Images
A model of Uber's "flying taxi," an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, is displayed at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit on May 8 in Los Angeles. Image: Robyn Beck / AFP-Getty Images

 

According to Mashable, the planes are expected to cruise at about 320 km/h and reach about 300 to 600 meters. The electric planes will go 96km on a charge.

The countries were announced during the Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo in Japan. The list includes Japan and the cities of Tokyo and Osaka; India with Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore; Australia in Melbourne or Sydney; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Paris, France, where Uber already announced an Advanced Technologies Center to study and develop flying cars.

Image: Uber
Image: Uber

 

Uber picked the five countries based on such criteria as population and lack of extreme weather. Uber says it also wants "polycentric" regions (urban areas made up of multiple cities), and would rather work with cities that already cooperate smoothly with Uber on the street.

Barney Harford, chief operating officer of Uber, said to South China Morning Post that its flying taxi, or uberAIR, will be a new efficient means of transport which will save time.

Bloomberg reports that Japan has backed up developing flying cars and launched a public-private council, hoping the new vehicle will play a role in mountainous areas and remote islands as well as in the event of natural disasters.

During the expo in Japan, Uber presented potential flight paths for cities to show what it could look like when a customer orders a short plane ride from an app.

 

Here's a proposed trip near Tokyo from Haneda to Narita airports:

Image: Uber
Image: Uber

 

Uber says its e-VTOLs would take under 20 minutes to cover about 40 miles (what is usually nearly two hours by car). Uber also showed potential routes in Delhi, Mumbai, Seoul, Sydney, and Taipei. 

 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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