Up, up and motoring away

Flying cars will be zipping across the skies within the coming decade - at least that’s what Uber Technologies’ chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi predicts.

Uber Technologies is a global taxi technology company headquartered in the US state of California, operating in 633 cities worldwide, including Bahrain. It develops, markets and operates the Uber car transportation and food delivery mobile apps.

It may not be a pie-in-the-sky suggestion, either. Senior flight dynamics engineer Hans Joore demonstrated a simulator of a PAL-V flying car at the company’s headquarters in the Netherlands, last May.

Several futuristic projects are under way in various countries, but a Dutch design may be the first one sold and soaring into the skies.

After years of testing, the PAL-V company aims to pip its competitors to the post. It is poised to start production on what it bills as a world first: a three-wheeled gyrocopter-type vehicle that can carry two people and will be certified for use on the roads and in the skies. “This kind of dream has been around for 100 years now. When the first plane was invented people already thought - how can I make that driveable on the road?” chief marketing officer Markus Hess said.

The PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) firm, based in Raamsdonksveer, is aiming to deliver its first flying car to its first customer by the end of this year who will need both a driving licence and a pilot’s licence. But with the keys in hand, the owner will be able to drive to an airfield for the short take-off, and after landing elsewhere drive to the destination in a ‘door-to-door’ experience.

Different versions of a flying car are being developed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Japan, China and the United States. But final assembly on the PAL-V will start in October, with the company seeking to be the first to go into commercial production.

And then it’s likely to really take-off, some suggest.

Dara told a technology conference in the German city of Munich during his first public appearance in Europe since taking over the top job at Uber last year of his high-flying vision:

“I think it’s going to happen within the next 10 years.”

Back down on the ground, he cited congested cities as one of the issues his company can help solve, for example by increasing the number of electric vehicles. Fully autonomous taxis are still 10 to 15 years away, however, because of the effort needed to create 3-D maps and since sensors are still too expensive, he said.

Uber plans to expand to more cities in Germany this year, and has new plans for London. The CEO said Uber has committed to having a hybrid or electric fleet in England’s capital ‘if they let us back in’.

The ride-hailing app company’s appeal against a license ban in London has been pushed back to later this year. In a preliminary court hearing, a judge ruled that Uber’s appeal should begin on April 30, but could be delayed until June.

Uber is appealing against a decision by regulator Transport for London (TFL) to not grant it a new private hire license to operate in the city. TFL refused to renew Uber’s license on the grounds of ‘public safety and security implications’.

The London ruling is not the only one the taxi-hailing giant is facing. But despite these challenges, for Uber Eats, which Dara said is ‘absolutely exploding’, he predicted it will be the largest food-delivery company in the world this year.