uber flying taxi sketch 003 wngl
uber flying taxi sketch 001 fqlk
uber flying taxi sketch 002 qlf7
airquadone rk9h
airquadone2 1hzm
Carsales Staff3 Jan 2019
NEWS

Flying taxis in Australia by 2020

Australian aviation authority in talks with Uber; sees no major hurdles to implementation

It's the year 2019 and there's still no hover board technology… although Lexus had a red-hot go in 2015.

But how about flying cars?

The Australian government agency responsible for regulating aviation safety is already discussing short-trip, low-altitude air taxis – electrically-powered machines – with Uber, which could launch its Uber Air service Down Under by 2023 with demonstration flights by 2020.

A spokesperson for CASA, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said that Uber has already approached the organisation to work through the legal issues, of which there appear to be few.

The AirQuadOne by Neva Aerospace could be your new Uber car

CASA's Peter Gibson told the ABC he has seen proposals that would fast-track passengers between the airport and city centres, via low-flying VTOL (vertical take off and landing) aircraft such as large drones or small helicopters, reducing travel times from two hours to 20 minutes.

"It's a bit like you can just go and charter a helicopter at Brisbane to go to the Sunshine Coast," Gibson told the ABC.

"That's all they're doing, but they're doing it in an electric aircraft controlled by a traffic management system and they're doing it a price point cheaper than you could hire a helicopter."

How cheap? It's not yet clear what a 30km flight will cost but Uber says there's a demand for the service.

Whatever shape Uber Air vehicles take, they won't be helicopters largely due to the noise

The flying car has been a symbol of the future, with movies like Blade Runner whetting the appetite of futurists everywhere. But as space on freeways and arterial roads around major cities and suburbs becomes scarce and new roads fail to match the population increase, the fantasy could soon become reality.

Former Tesla boss Elon Musk is attempting to drill tunnels underground to alleviate traffic congestion in Los Angeles but air taxis appear to be closer to commercialisation.

The CASA official told the ABC that Uber Air was not the sole 'disruptor' seeking to set up innovative aviation operations in Australia. Google's parent company Alphabet is set to trial drone-based delivery technology in Canberra ahead of its US rollout, in large part because Aussie regulations are less obstructive than many other countries'.

The idea of a flying car or air taxi is not new.

Toyota's flying taxi is being readied for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while aviation giant Airbus, Chinese car-maker Geely and even Mercedes and Audi are actively working on flying vehicle projects.

The idea of an air taxi would bypass all ground traffic

It's not yet clear what aircraft Uber Air plans to use but the service is scheduled to begin in three major cities from 2023, with Dallas and Los Angeles already confirmed. There is a shortlist of five other countries vying to be the third market, including Brazil, France, Japan, India and Australia.

In its proposal to CASA, Uber Air stated that all aircraft would be overseen by humans, not AI, so that if something went awry the pilot could step in. Ultimately, the goal is for self-flying vehicles to reduce the cost of flights.

If the Australian bid is successful, Uber Air says it expects to develop about 25 'Skyports' dotted around Melbourne or Sydney in a bid to offer customers a way out of traffic gridlock. Many of these Skyports could end up being converted rooftop car parks.

Is this the future of ride-sharing?

The service would operate almost identically to the ground-based Uber system, using an app to hail a ride after selecting a destination.

Gibson stated that while the deal is far from sealed, Australia was in a strong position to join LA and Texas as the inaugural Uber Air cities.

"Uber is deadly serious about this," he said, with an official announcement expected very soon.

"There are companies, and I'm talking about big multinational companies, investing big dollars.

"We are talking about hundreds of millions, if not billions [of dollars]."

Share this article
Written byCarsales Staff
See all articles
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.

If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.