Uber is definitely on its way to taking its ride-sharing service to the sky. While Elon Musk and The Boring Company are busy digging tunnels to help ease traffic congestion, Uber Air and its partner, Bell Aerospace, are planning to take their newest flying taxi concept to the skies.
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Called the Nexus, the concept vehicle is the latest iteration of the Nexus VTOL aircraft. The aircraft will pair with Bell and Uber’s future Elevate air transportation service. The scale model of the Nexus VTOL aircraft, which looks like an over-sized drone, reportedly represents Uber’s “major step in its Elevate initiative to create an on-demand Uber Air network.”
Read More: Uber Elevate Reveals Designs Of Future UberAir Skyports
Nexus: The Future of Flying Taxi Service
While the futuristic air transport vehicle on display at CES was not operational, Bell aims to begin flight testing by 2023. If all goes as planned, Uber Air will commence its commercial flying taxi operations in the same year. Although not confirmed yet, it appears that residents from Texas will have first access to the program in the U.S
The Nexus has six propellers with each housed in a tilting duct. This enables it to lift off the ground like a conventional helicopter. Once in the air, the propellers can rotate to a 90-degree position for faster air travel.
Uber designed the 6,500-pound aircraft to fit a standard 40-foot by 40-foot landing pad. This means that cities and other air transport landing places won’t have to alter their existing infrastructure to accommodate the Nexus.
The future flying taxi is entirely electric, using a Safran turboshaft-based hybrid propulsion and drive system. The company hopes their vehicles will have a range of up to 150 miles with a travel time of just under an hour for the same distance.
In what ways the adoption of flying taxi services in the future would impact the economy?
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