Russia is planning to start operating a flying taxi in 2025, writes TASS, citing the words of Alexander Atamanov, CEO of the Hover drone taxi company.
The first stage involves routes over industrial zones, rivers, canals, overpasses. The technology must prove its safety, it will take time, Atamanov noted. Also, work will be carried out with the legislation allowing the operation of such equipment.
Aerotaxi is a passenger drone that can lift two people into the air at the same time. The car will be controlled by a digital system, the company promises. Passengers will be in a protective capsule, it will take the blow in case of an accident. For emergencies, there is a parachute that will lower a taxi with passengers to the ground.
$ 1.5 million has already been allocated for the creation of transport. The company plans to introduce a production version of the drone taxi during this year. The cost of a flight by air taxi in the future may be about 20 rubles per kilometer. Taxi can be used not only as urban transport, but also as an air ambulance.
Earlier, the British company Vertical Aerospace unveiled plans to create an E-Taxi air taxi that can make a 76-kilometer journey in just 30 minutes (by train, this distance can be covered in an hour). The prototype of the model will appear by September 2021.