Flying to work can be cheaper than owning a car, says Uber

Flying around in an aircraft is the future of transportation, according to Uber. The company’s new “on demand air transportation” system will basically be flying cars. These vertical take-off and landing aircrafts, or VTOLs, will deliver commuters to their destination much in the same way, a regular Uber does.

Uber’s Product Director for its Elevate flying taxi program Nikhil Goel told Mashable that, “Until we get to the point where flying to work is cheaper than owning a car, it doesn’t become a true replacement solution for everybody. My goal is ultimately to make sure that it is cheaper than car ownership.” He added that Uber is aiming for the service to be mainstream in the next ten years and that Elevate will work in a way similar to UberPOOL.

Goel said, “In order to make the commute affordable, the vehicle is going to have to be full… so you’ll almost always have four passengers.” However, to make this a reality, Uber still has to still go through a number of regulatory hoops.

How will Uber Elevate work?

According to the report, all passengers will meet at a nearby “pod” where the VTOL will be parked. They would then fly to the pod closest to all of their destinations. Then, the self-driving cars would take them to their specific individual locations. Initially, the VTOLs will be driven by a pilot but will eventually become fully autonomous. The company hopes to roll out around 1,200 VTOLS in the next ten years.

Currently, Alphabet’s Waymo, Uber and major auto companies are competing to create the technology for an autonomous revolution that could reorder the car industry and transform transportation. Last year, European aerospace giant Airbus unveiled its secret Silicon Valley project on a pilot-less aircraft called Vahana. A fleet of these self-flying taxis will be called CityAirbus. The company aims to have a full-size prototype before the end of 2017, and aims to take to the skies by 2020. More so, it can be summoned by a smartphone too.

Airbus isn’t the only company that is currently venturing out into air mobility. Carmakers such as Toyota and Honda have also tried their hand aviation. Honda delivered its first private jet in 2015 after three decades of developing new aerospace technology.