For those who grew up watching sci-fi films that depicted the 21st century with flying cars, we relate to your disappointment of still being cancelled on by auto rickshaws.
With urban cities getting more and more congested, spending long hours on the road has become the new normal.
However, there might be an escape route from all the traffic woes.
If you are someone from Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore (sending prayers to all others), be ready to board an air taxi soon.
Gurugram-based InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company of IndiGo airlines, plans to launch an all-electric air taxi service in India by 2026 (three more years, don’t lose hope).
The company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with US-based Archer Aviation for operating the service, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances.
The air taxi is a piloted, four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between.
Once launched, an InterGlobe-Archer flight can take passengers from Connaught Place in the national capital to Gurugram in Haryana in just seven minutes whereas the 27-kilometre-long road trip takes 60-90 minutes.
“Over the last two decades, InterGlobe has been involved in providing safe, efficient, and affordable transportation to hundreds of millions of Indians across the country. We are excited at this new opportunity of bringing an effective, futuristic and sustainable transport solution by introducing Archer’s electric aircraft to India,” said Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe.
“I founded Archer with the vision to help decongest the world’s largest cities. India is one of, if not the largest opportunity for eVTOL aircraft utilization in the world, as it is home to the world’s largest population of over 1.4 billion people and its largest cities face some of the greatest congestion challenges in the world,” commented Archer’s CEO and founder Adam Goldstein.
In addition to urban air taxi services, the companies plan to unveil a list of other services in India, including cargo, logistics, medical and emergency services, as well as private company and charter services.
Air taxis could cruise at 180 mph at altitudes of 1,000 ft to 2,000 ft. They come in different shapes and sizes and look different from conventional fixed-wing aircraft.
Electric motors replace engines and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft will avoid the need for long runways. These taxis also promise to emit less carbon emissions compared to any other conventional mode of transport.
The affordability part still remains to be answered as no estimates have been given indicating the cost.
Major companies like Toyota, Uber, Hyundai, Airbus and Boeing are actively testing air taxi services and many of them are closer to getting their models certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US.
The goal is to link urban centres with suburbs while avoiding traffic.
On November 12, US-based Joby Aviation and Germany's Volocopter both flew exhibition flights against a backdrop of skyscrapers in New York.
Joby plans to introduce a commercial passenger service in 2025.
The US, China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are also working to make self-driving air taxis a reality.