Uber eyes flying commuter transit

SAN FRANCISCO: Uber on Thursday laid out a vision for on-demand aircraft that can whisk commuters to home or work in a fraction of the time it would take on the road.

The ride-sharing giant assessed the feasibility of what it called “vertical take-off and landing” vehicles in a 98-page white paper, inviting innovators and entrepreneurs to take flight with the idea. The company said it will be reaching out to cities, manufacturers and others about the concept.

“Just as skyscrapers allowed cities to use limited land more efficiently, urban air transportation will use three-dimensional airspace to alleviate transportation congestion on the ground,” said the white paper.

“A network of small, electric aircraft that take off and land vertically will enable rapid, reliable transportation between suburbs and cities and, ultimately, within cities.”