Uber Air flying taxi service to be trialled in Melbourne

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(Image: Uber)

Melbourne has been announced as the third pilot city for Uber to trial its flying taxi service, Uber Air.

Test flights are pencilled in for next year, with plans for commercial operations to commence from 2023.

Uber Air is touted by the company as an “urban aviation ride-sharing product”. It wants to ease traffic congestion on the ground.

“In the long term, the vision is for safe, quiet electric vehicles transporting tens of thousands of people across cities for the same price as an UberX trip over the same distance,” Uber said in a statement announcing the initiative down under.

The company in August announced five possible markets to launch its pipedream: Australia, Brazil, France, India, and Japan. It also confirmed that from 2023, customers will be able to get a flight on-demand in Dallas and Los Angeles.

Uber had in February told an Australian House Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee that it was keen to trial Uber Air in either Melbourne or Sydney and that it just needed Australian governments to work alongside the Silicon Valley darling to make that happen.

READ MORE: Uber’s flying taxi service pitched at government for trial in Australia

In announcing Uber Air was coming to Australia, the company announced partnerships with Macquarie, Telstra, and Westfield-operator Scentre Group, and said it would work with existing partners including Melbourne Airport to develop the infrastructure and telecommunications needed to create the aviation network.

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