“Rapid reliable transport between suburbs and cities, and ultimately, within cities”. That bold claim made by Uber relates to the company’s flying car which could get off the ground in the next decade, providing everyone from network operators to cities collaborate effectively.
Chief product officer Jeff Holden says this new-age taxi service would circumvent traffic, shorten commute times and could even reduce emissions.
Uber said more than a dozen companies are working on the project, with “many different design approaches” but vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) propulsion is the common blueprint to the project’s biggest hurdle – a lack of sufficient landing pads and open space.
Compared to the helicopter, Uber’s proposed flying car wouldn’t need huge energy-consuming rotors because its fixed-wing design would use distributed electric propulsion. Also pulling one over the helicopter, the futuristic air taxi would eliminate pilot error through extensive autopilot systems – some reports suggest that it could be twice as safe as driving a car.
As for costs, VTOL could achieve manufacturing scales of economies closer to the car than an aircraft and that a ridesharing business model would reduce prohibitive costs.
Speaking to autocar, “Once the ridesharing service commences, a positive feedback loop should ensure that ultimately reduces costs and thus prices for all users, i.e. as the total number of users increases, the utilisation of the aircraft increases,” the company said.
Uber also identified a number of unique challenges that needed to be addressed before its concept becomes a reality. Among these, air traffic control and certification processes by the Civil Aviation Authority stood out as pressing issues.
