With the amount of negative attention Uber has been receiving lately, some people might be questioning whether it will survive until 2020. However, the ride-hailingcompany believes it will be, and has a pretty ambitious goal it wants to acheive by then.
Speaking at the Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas on Tuesday, Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden said the company plans to operate a fleet of flying taxis in Dallas-Fort Worth and Dubai by 2020, according to Autoblog. The taxis are expected to be small zero-emission vehicles that can take off and land vertically, and are quiet enough to use in cities.
Uber reportedly estimates the service will cut commute times by as much as 87.5 percent in certain places. Holden said its initial tests showed the cost per passenger mile will be $1.32, roughly 10 cents more than current UberX rates.
In conjunction with Hillwoods Property, Uber will begin building four “vertiports” in Dallas next year. These facilities will have both takeoff and landing pads, as well as charging stations; Uber currently is working with ChargePoint to develop an exclusive vehicle charger.
For the flying taxi project, Uber has partnered with the Dubai government, as well as engineering firms Bell Helicopter, Aurora, Pipistrel, Mooney, and Embraer, which will help build its vehicles. The company reportedly expects to conduct demo runs in the taxis at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Melies The Bunny
