Companies envision taxis flying above jammed traffic

SAN FRANCISCO: As urban traffic gets more miserable, entrepreneurs are looking to a future in which commuters hop into"air taxis" that whisk them over clogged roads., Joby and Wisk are working on electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically like helicopters then propel forward like planes.

Commuters would make it the rest of the way however they wish, even synching trips with car rideshare services such as Uber, which owns a stake in Santa Cruz, California-based Joby. Joby has declined to discuss details of the remotely piloted aircraft's crash, which occurred in an uninhabited area, saying it is waiting for US aviation regulators to finish an investigation.

Its eVTOL aircraft have a maximum range of 241km, a top speed of 321 per hour and a"low noise profile" to avoid an annoying din, the company said. Hurdles on the path include establishing infrastructure and adapting attitudes to make air taxis a part of everyday life."Getting people to want to travel in a different way will take some rethinking."Roads are congested with traffic that wastes time, frays nerves and spews pollution.Miami and Los Angeles are already exploring the potential of aerial ridesharing, and Archer is hoping to have a small air taxi service operating in at least one of those cities by the end of 2024.

"Imagine flying from London to Newark, New Jersey, then getting in an Archer and being deposited somewhere in Manhattan," Bristow said.Silicon Valley startup Xwing specialises in making standard aircraft capable of flying safely without pilots, with an aim of turning commuting by air into a cheaper and more efficient way to travel.

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