Uber and NASA are teaming up to work together on flying taxis.
The deal between the two will have them working together to create driverless flying taxis that will transport customers across cities at 200 mph. Customers will be able to summon these flying taxis for rides in a similar manner to summoning a normal ride from Uber.
Uber’s plans for flying taxis will allow them to hold up to four passengers. The second round of testing for these flying cars will occur in Los Angeles in 2020. The first tests are set for Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. The ride-hailing company is hoping to have flying taxis ready for customers in 2023.
Uber and NASA’s deal will have the ride-sharing service joining for testing in 2019. This will be for the Phase 4 segment of NASA’s test. The first two phases of the program are already complete and the third will take place next year. The agreement between the two is the first NASA has ever made to work toward low-altitude flights, reports Reuters.
“Technology will allow L.A. residents to literally fly over the city’s historically bad traffic, giving them time back to use in far more productive ways,” Jeff Holden, Chief Product Officer at Uber, told Fortune. “At scale, we expect UberAir will perform tens of thousands of flights each day across the city.”
Uber isn’t the only one looking for a way to overcome the bad traffic in Los Angeles. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), has a new company digging tunnels under the city. He plans to use these tunnels for a shuttle service that will transport cars around the city.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
