Air Taxis: A Game Changer or a Rare Case of Non-contextualised Tech?
To get from A to B we often use a modal mix of transportation. So far, this modal split was mainly driven by planes, trains, buses, and where possible, ferries. In the short-haul range, bicycles, or e-scooters should also be mentioned. Mobility will change fundamentally in the years to come, especially post-pandemic.
Sustainability requirements, new technologies, and urban development are just a few impacts. Innovative transportation concepts like urban air mobility could play a future role in intelligent and efficient multi-modal transportation concepts.
Does a game changer come into play with air taxis?
It can be observed that the startups around electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles are developing this new mobility at high speed and with a lot of venture capital.
Areas of application are short-distance transport of passengers, distances of up to 300 km are available with different aircraft types. Mainly inner and intercity transportation is planned, around 50% of this future transportation is predicted to be airport-shuttle. Furthermore, use cases for these new high-flyers are also seen in cargo transportation. The development of cargo drones is even a little further than the flying taxis are. Urgent medical deliverables and parcel services to islands are just a few already known use cases.