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Uber unveils plan to FLY you to your destination by 2023

Lucy Dean
Image: Uber
Image: Uber

Picture this: you’re running late for that lunch with your best friends that has been in the calendar for six months. You push a button on your phone and your Uber Air flight arrives.

Neat, right?

It’s the “future of urban aviation”, according to Uber, and a project that could take off in Australia.

In a submission to the Australian government’s inquiry into automated mass transit, Uber said its urban aviation project could be the key to solving Australia’s size and congestion problems.

“Uber Air is an initiative with the aim to create on-demand, urban aviation options via all-electric aircraft on the Uber network. Riders will push a button and get a flight via Uber Air. Uber Air will be a mass-market product serving daily and casual commuters as an alternative to driving into and out of congested urban areas,” the submission read.

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Uber said its goal is to provide customers with use of the service by 2023. The fleet would be shared and electric.

It plans to begin demonstrator flights from 2020 in Los Angeles and Dallas. The share-transport giant is also considering demonstrator flights in Sydney and Melbourne after the two cities were identified on its shortlist of ideal test cities.

“On-demand aviation has the potential to change the way we think about urban transportation, and radically improve urban mobility by giving people back time lost in their daily commutes,” the submission continued.

“UberAir represents a unique opportunity for Australia – including the local businesses Uber
would partner with – to be part of the development of this innovative technology.”

Responding to the same inquiry, super-train technology group HyperloopTT pitched a high-speed tube train which could cut travel times between Melbourne and Sydney to a staggering 40 minutes.

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