Hyundai and Urban-Air Port team up to build flying taxi hubs
The development of flying taxi hubs is in progress due to the growth of electric flying vehicles and drones. In a collaboration between South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company and infrastructure business Urban-Air Port, a network of flying-taxi hubs is envisioned for 65 cities across the world.
The firms said in a statement on Thursday that the flying taxi hubs will be built in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, Germany, France, and Scandinavia. Plans are that by early 2022, their first location will open in Coventry, England. According to Urban-Air Port, they are the only company dedicated completely to developing flying taxis hubs and freight drone networks for electric flying vehicles.
Bloomberg states that this year, only $150 million was spent on physical infrastructure compared to the $5 billion invested in electric vertical take-off and landing aircrafts (eVTOL) by companies like Joby Aviation and Lilium GmbH. Ricky Sandhu, the founder and Executive Chairman of Urban-Air Port, stated that electric flying vehicles and drones will be utilized within cities in the future.
“The sector is soaring and we know that a future with electric flying vehicles and drones in cities is going to be a reality soon, but it can’t happen if we don’t have the infrastructure on the ground and in the air,” said Urban-Air Port founder and Executive Chairman Ricky Sandhu.
It was reported that a spokesperson for Urban-Air Port said the next facilities to open after Coventry, England will be in Los Angeles, as well as another city in England’s midlands. The London hub will be located in the City financial center or at the West End retail district.
In the next five years, Urban-Air Port wants to build a network of at least 200 electric air transportation facilities around the world. These flying taxi hubs will be designed to fit into both congested urban areas and remote regions where hydrogen fuel cells will be used to provide charging.