Uber Previews Its Dubai Air Taxi Service (engadget.com)
- Reference: 0180858570
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/02/25/1321256/uber-previews-its-dubai-air-taxi-service
- Source link: https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-previews-its-dubai-air-taxi-service-130000603.html
> Uber is one step closer to going airborne. On Wednesday, the company [1]previewed its air taxi booking service ahead of an expected launch in Dubai later this year. The inaugural Uber Air program will let travelers book Joby Aviation's electric air taxis through a familiar process in the Uber app.
>
> The experience of booking an air taxi will be much like reserving a four-wheeled Uber. In the app, after entering your destination, Uber Air will appear as an option for eligible routes. The Uber app will book a flight and an Uber Black to pick you up and drop you off at a Joby "vertiport." Joby's air taxis, built exclusively for city travel, can accommodate up to four passengers and luggage. (Uber says size and weight guidelines will be announced closer to launch.) The interior is about the size of an SUV and has "comfortable seating" with panoramic windows. They can travel up to 200 mph and have a range of up to 100 miles. Four battery packs and a triple-redundant flight computer are onboard for safety purposes.
[1] https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-previews-its-dubai-air-taxi-service-130000603.html
I'm Super Excited To See This (Score:2)
I can't tell you how happy I am to see extremely wealthy and Arab guinea pigs for these air taxis.
I think the risks are being optimally distributed.
Looks expensive. (Score:3)
I wasn't aware of Joby before seeing this article but their videos are actually pretty impressive. And they have some pretty solid corporate backing. And I like the design where it switches from VTOL to cruise like an Osprey.
From a technology standpoint it seems viable, but is each 10 mile ride going to be a 2 hour wait and cost $1,500? 100 mile range is only going to be good for 5 to 10 trips at best, then a couple hours for recharge.
Also interesting that they had one video/article that showed a hydrogen powered version which had 500+ mile range. Hydrogen doesn't make much sense for cars but for an aircraft operating out of a properly equipped FBO it could be doable. But it looks like they aren't going that way.
Re: (Score:2)
They are going to have a hard time expanding into scotland [1]https://www.urbandictionary.co... [urbandictionary.com]
[1] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jobby
It's a Charter Helicopter Flight. For the Rich. (Score:2)
It's a charter flight on a 6-prop helicopter piloted by a human (with hopes of being autonomous in the future). All standard flight and landing requirements apply.
Ride-hailing's innovation was the deception of lawmakers and the app-based dispatch.
Where's the innovation here?
triple eh? (Score:2)
> triple-redundant flight computer
I'd hold out for quadruple...
How’s your ride going? (Score:2)
1 star
My hovercraft is full of eels