By 2020, Uber wants to have its first public demonstration of its network of electric planes that would ferry passengers at 150 m.p.h through urban skies to their destinations.
To reach its ambitious goal in the next few years, Uber Elevate has partnered with Dallas-Forth Worth and Dubai to be its launch partners. Uber plans to announce that it is aiming to debut the Uber Elevate network when Dubai hosts the World’s Fair in 2020.
The vision for Uber Elevate is to build a network of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that would make aviation on-demand. T he project will have ” significant cost advantages” over other modes of solving transportation problems, like building new roads, bridges, or tunnels, Uber says. Since the planes don’t need to follow set routes, it would help avoid congestion and improve commute times, the company says.
Based on Uber’s calculations, a two-hour drive between San Francisco’s Marina neighborhood to downtown San Jose would only take 15 minutes in a VTOL aircraft. In an app demonstration, Holden showed how “UberAir” could become an in-app option, just like choosing between UberPOOL and UberXL. Uber says its key to unlocking this kind of urban air travel is being able to understand demand and pricing.
Uber is also working with NASA, the FAA, and the National Air Traffic Control Association to work on a different approach to air traffic control.
To get there though requires an infrastructure build out. The company suggests parking garages and helipads could be repurposed to be used as “vertipods” and “vertistops.” As part of its partnerships with Dubai and Dallas-Fort Worth, Uber will also be working with two real estate holding companies to work on building the infrastructure needed for it. The Dubai Road and Transport Authority will also be funding studies on pricing and demand for a VTOL network.
