BackOpinion | Uber’s air cabs: a flight of fancy?
For its aerial ride-hailing service, Uber has roped in South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor to develop electric flying machines
PremiumImagine getting from Gurugram to central Delhi in 10 minutes flat. Surely, one would have to levitate to cover the 35 odd kilometres. But it can be done without a jet belt. Uber Elevate, Uber’s ambitious air cab project, proposes to have flying vehicles at your service—in Dallas, Los Angeles and Melbourne, to start with—at the touch of an app by 2023. With luck, it may launch in India too.
For its aerial ride-hailing service, Uber has roped in South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor to develop electric flying machines. By 2023, the company expects to have airspace support, ground operations and a flight-booking app interface in place. Given the state of traffic in India, there will be no dearth of demand for such a service, even if it’s priced high. But the drawback isn’t demand, but the web of regulations that Uber will probably fly into.
On paper, we do have has a framework of rules for air taxi operators, and such services to ply, but it’s by no means clear how quickly Uber will be able to get clearances. Moreover, does the country have the requisite infrastructure? Special air traffic control systems may be needed. Also, since the air cabs will be electric, a network of charging points would be needed if the service aims to offer more than a handful of pickup and drop locations. Local-level bureaucratic barriers could pop up, too. In all, though, it would serve people well if the government fast tracks the project. Many of us could do with the option of an air hop.
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