Uber claims there are 'no plans to operate a helicopter fleet of any size in Melbourne', after key aspects of its Uber Air service were revealed by the ABC

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• The ABC has revealed documents outlining Uber's plans for its Melbourne air service.

• According to the report, the Uber Air helicopters will fly at an altitude of roughly 457 metres and up to 321 kilometres an hour.

• A senior lecturer from RMIT explained why he believes the helicopters are viable.

• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

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The ABC revealed documents outlining some key aspects of Uber Air's helicopter service, which will be trialled in Melbourne in 2020.

The documents were accessed under the Freedom of Information act, which gives you the right to request access to government-held information.

They were reportedly marked with "Commercial in confidence: Highly sensitive - do not distribute" and highlighted how helicopters will operate.

What is Uber Air and what did the documents reveal about them?

In 2019, Melbourne was announced as the first city outside of the US to launch the Uber Air passenger service, after Dallas and Los Angeles.

The air service was designed as a way to reduce traffic congestion.

At the time, Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate, explained how the service would cut down congestion time. "For example, the 19 kilometre journey from the CBD to Melbourne airport can take anywhere from 25 minutes to around an hour by car in peak hour, but with Uber Air this will take around 10 minutes,” Allison said in a statement.

The documents revealed by the ABC noted that the aircraft will fly at an altitude of roughly 457 metres, speeds between 241 and 321 kilometres an hour, and at a range of up to 96 kilometres.

They also noted that Uber plans to use its same ridesharing model for Uber Air – where Uber acts as a platform to connect passengers and aircraft operators. And like Uber, pilots may be responsible for the maintenance and safety of the helicopters, the ABC said.

According the ABC, Uber previously said the three cities that will be getting Uber Air would need around 1000 helicopters and 83 skyports to make it work.

However, an Uber spokesperson rejected that claim.

"There are no plans to operate a helicopter fleet of any size in Melbourne, or any other city in Victoria,” the spokesperson told Business Insider Australia via email.

According to the ABC, Uber said the noise level it is targeting for its aircraft is 67 decibels for people on the ground, when the helicopter is at a 75 meter altitude. That's roughly the same volume as a vacuum cleaner.

Matthew Marino, senior lecturer and researcher in the School of Aerospace Engineering and Aviation at RMIT told Business Insider Australia that level isn't too loud.

"No, not necessarily," he said. "67 decibels is almost at a conversational level when it comes to sound. Anything approaching 85 to 90 decibels – that's when things start getting loud. So picture your normal whipper snipper or your normal lawnmower."

And Uber spokesperson told Business Insider Australia by email it plans to have quiet takeoffs and landings with its aircraft.

"We will continue to work with the community and government on all issues surrounding the trial, especially any noise considerations," the Uber spokesperson said.

"The vision is for safe, quiet electric vertical take off and landing vehicles. Unlike helicopters these vehicles are all-electric, minimising noise and increasing energy efficiency."

Questions raised about how the helicopters could affect Melbourne

The documents showed Uber is working with state and federal regulators on the process and scale of its new service.

Invest Victoria, an agency that promotes investment, also reportedly said the helicopters don't need to "follow fixed routes" and both parking lots and the tops of buildings "can easily be repurposed as skyports".

Uber, rejected the idea that it is being secretive about information regarding its Uber Air service.

"We are committed to open dialogue and transparent community consultation in every market we are scoping," an Uber spokesperson told Business Insider Australia via email.

"Being a true partner for cities is a central part of Uber’s mission and our Uber Air program has to date been involved in deep collaboration with all levels of government."

However, Petra Stock, the community researcher who sourced the Uber documents, said the helicopters could have noise and visual impacts in the city. Stock also expressed concerns about how the whole system will be planned.

"People expect with a major road or a major transport project there are processes in place, like environmental assessments, that look at all these different elements and look at how to minimise them and manage them," she told the ABC. "It's unclear if that will exist for this proposal."

But the documents highlight that Uber doesn't want its helicopters to be a disruption.

"Moving forward from 2023, Uber will work diligently to show that the service can be scaled safely, efficiently and with minimal disruption to the neighbourhoods it serves," they said, according to the ABC.

The aircraft is viable, according to Marino

Marino told Business Insider Australia he believes the aircraft are viable for Melbourne.

"Yes, I do think it's viable," he said.

Marino explained that Melbourne is well positioned because it has various heliports in city of Melbourne and suitable infrastructure.

"We have some good entry and exit points coming in and out of Melbourne to the airport which is going to be the centralised study which they'll end up starting from.

"So we can utilise the existing infrastructure to actually use these Uber aircraft," he said. "And to tell you the truth, the space requirements to land and take off are not too dissimilar than what a helicopter would use normally. We can definitely capitalise off the existing infrastructure that we have."

Uber will begin test flights in 2020, with commercial operations slated for 2023.