Uber’s transport future

Uber’s vision for the future of transport has been outlined at the company’s Elevate Asia Pacific Expo in Tokyo.

A journey planner is one of the key features that was highlighted at the conference.

It could be used to book trips that combine ride-sharing e-bikes or scooters, public transport, and Uber’s car and electric aircraft options.

UberAir was the key product discussed at the Tokyo event, the NZ Herald

reports.

The electric aircraft, could take up to five passengers and would launch from Skyports based near transport hubs or on top of high-rise buildings.

It’s predicted they could cruise at up to 321km/h, with the aircrafts flying between 300 and 600 metres above the ground.

Uber’s head of aviation programmes Eric Allison says the company will continue to push the technology.

“We are going to continue to work with the vehicle partners as the prototypes become real, and start flying,” he says.

“It will kind of be a continual ratchet to help people understand that this is not just a sci-fi fantasy. We think this could make a very meaningful contribution to flows of traffic in cities.

“We think that people need to be able to move around freely, and for that to happen there needs to be lots of different options.”

Test flights will start from 2020 in the United States, with public use possible by 2023.

Other options on the horizon include UberPool, where customers share the ride, along with electric bikes and scooters.