And in 2017 it was reported during the World Government
Summit that Dubai was to launch a Drone taxi in July of that year.
The vehicle carried only one passenger weighing up to
100kg, who can select a destination via a touch screen but there were no other
controls inside the aircraft.
It was also reported that to become a passenger of the
Drone taxi cost an estimated $200,000.
And in August last year it was confirmed that a deal had
been struck to create sky lanes for the Drone taxis. The deal was signed
between the Roads Transport Authority and the Dubai Air Navigation Services.
The deal was all part of Dubai’s Self-Driving Transport
strategy drive.
But Dubai is not the only country demonstrating a
futuristic world, South Korea is too, by unveiling a two seater Drone in Seoul
last November. The government laid out plans to commercialise air travel by
2025.
At an event held in Han River near Yeouido , a two seat
Drone taxi produced by Chinese manufacturer EHang flew over the event for about
seven minutes and reached an altitude of over 150ft.
The eVTOL (electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicle)
carried a payload of 485Ibs and reached speeds of 80mph.
German manufacturer, Volocopter, also unveiled plans in
Singapore to unroll its first electric powered air taxi by 2023. Singapore is
at the forefront of plans to launch flying taxis due to the country’s welcoming
regulation regime.
However, Singapore will not be the only country to unveil
Drone taxis by 2023 as UK city Bristol is also following suit.
Vertical Aerospace received a £2.5million grant to test
the feasibility of the project and Bristol Airport will be the base for the
Drone taxis
Each air taxi will reportedly have a pilot and apparently
up to four passengers.
Ends
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