Uber has shortlisted India as a market where it may launch its air mobility services in the next five years, The Verge reported. The ride-hailing company cited the traffic situation of Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru as it announced its future plans for the “UberAir service” at an event in Tokyo on Thursday.
Uber had named Dallas and Los Angeles as its first two launch cities for the project last year, and was looking for a third international metropolis after the proposal for Dubai reportedly fell through. It has now named Japan, India, Australia, Brazil and France as potential markets for the “flying taxi” service.
The company said it was “inviting conversations with stakeholders” in major cities in the five shortlisted countries, and will announce the city in six months, IANS reported.
Last year, Uber hadsaid it had teamed up with the US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration to launch autonomously flying electric taxis. Uber Air plans to launch demonstration flights in several cities in 2020 and paid, intra-city flying taxi operations by 2023.
“Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are some of the most congested cities in the world, where travelling even a few kilometres can take over an hour,” the company said. “Uber Air offers tremendous potential to help create a transportation option that goes over congestion, instead of adding to it.”
The proposed taxis can accommodate four passengers each and fly at a speed of 200 miles an hour, Uber had said earlier.
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