Uber targets Melbourne for air taxi service
Melbourne is slated to become the first city outside the US where Uber will deploy its much-vaunted flying taxi service, Uber Air.
Having previously announced Los Angeles and Dallas as its two pilot cities in the US, Melbourne will now become Uber Air’s gateway to the Australian and Asia-Pacific markets. According to the San Francisco-based company, test flights will start in 2020, with commercial operations kicking off in 2023. The plans were revealed at Uber’s Elevate Summit, taking place this week in Washington DC.
“Australian governments have adopted a forward-looking approach to ridesharing and future transport technology,” said Susan Anderson, regional general manager for Uber in Australia, New Zealand and North Asia.
“This, coupled with Melbourne’s unique demographic and geospatial factors, and culture of innovation and technology, makes Melbourne the perfect third launch city for Uber Air. We will see other Australian cities following soon after.”
According to Uber, congestion currently costs Australia $16.5 billion annually, with this figure expected to increase to around $30 billion by 2030.
“As major cities grow, the heavy reliance on private car ownership will not be sustainable,” said Eric Allison, global head of Uber Elevate.
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