Uber Elevate announced five shortlisted finalist countries that could be home to the first international Uber Air City within the next five years. Additionally, Uber Elevate announced plans to experiment with drone delivery for Uber Eats, and demonstrated how potential Uber Air routes in Asia Pacific cities could benefit, and complement, local transportation systems.
Eric Allison, Head of Uber Aviation Programs said
We are proud to host the first ever Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo, showcasing the exciting future Uber Air can bring to the region and to the world. In pursuit of our first international launch market, where you will be able to push a button and get a flight, we are announcing a shortlist of five countries where Uber Air can immediately transform transportation and take our technology to new heights.
We want to thank the attendees of the Expo who got a first peek at Uber Eats delivered by drones, potential future routes where Uber Air will fly people across cities in the Asia Pacific region, and many other ways Uber is creating a new future of truly multi-modal transportation.
Honorable Daisaku Hiraki, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said
I am very pleased that Uber’s first-ever Elevate APAC Expo took place in Japan. We see much potential in flying cars, and we anticipate that flying cars can be used not only to help solve traffic congestion in urban areas, but it will also help with increase mobility between city centres and remote islands and mountainous areas, promote tourism in Japan as well as enhance disaster relief operations.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on 29 August that the Investments for the Future Strategy 2018 will consist of launching a Joint Public-Private Sector conference to revolutionize the aviation mobility industry. I believe public and private sectors, including companies outside of Japan, should work collaboratively to develop this new technology. I am confident that Japan has the potential to become a leader in aviation innovation.
Shortlist for First International Uber Air City
Uber’s Elevate program is creating urban aerial ride-sharing, globally. Starting in approximately five years, Uber customers in launch cities will be able to push a button and get a flight on demand. To enable this, Uber has assembled a network of partners that includes vehicle manufacturers, real estate developers, technology developers and more. Dallas and Los Angeles were previously announced as the first two U.S. launch cities, and at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit in May, Uber announced it was seeking an international city as a third partner.
After evaluating countries across the globe, Uber executives announced today at the Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo that the following five countries are on a shortlist
- Japan – Home of one of the world’s most enviable public transit systems and a world leader in the technology and automotive industries, Uber is excited to invite mega-cities including Tokyo and Osaka to explore the future of transportation with us.
- India – Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore are some of the most congested cities in the world, where traveling even a few kilometers can take over an hour. Uber Air offers tremendous potential to help create a transportation option that goes over congestion, instead of adding to it.
- Australia – Uber Elevate has already had several positive conversations with local policymakers and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority in the recent visit to Sydney and Melbourne. Australia has already taken significant steps to embrace the future of urban aviation.
- Brazil – Rio de Janeiro and the state of São Paulo, home to Uber’s partner Embraer, are key ride-sharing markets globally, and they also happen to be some of today’s most active helicopter markets, indicating clear demand for urban aerial ride-sharing.
- France – Uber is excited to announce the opening of it’s Advanced Technology Center in Paris, the city where Uber was first born, and it is looking forward to further discussions in a region with a rich aviation history.
The Uber Elevate team is now inviting conversations with stakeholders across major cities in these countries, and will announce the chosen Uber Air international city within the next six months.
Uber Elevate has established a criteria framework to select this third city, anchored around three priority principles:
- Sizable market – It is looking for large, polycentric markets with a strong and present need for innovative transportation solutions, and with a metropolitan population over one million people.
- Local commitment – It will work with federal, state, and local governments from day one, in addition to members of the community it hopes to serve — real estate developers, zoning commissions, city councils, and neighborhoods. It will be looking for markets that are locally committed to bringing Uber Air there so that it can collaborate closely in the coming years.
- Enabling conditions – Uber Air relies on multi-modal, efficient operations that are seamlessly integrated with a robust Uber ground network.
More details on the Uber Air international City Criteria can be found here
About Uber Elevate
Uber launched its Elevate program in October 2016 with the publication of the first White Paper on Urban Air Mobility. Since then it has entered into partnerships with experienced aircraft manufacturers who are developing electric VTOL vehicles, including Embraer, Bell, Aurora Flight Sciences [now a subsidiary of Boeing], Pipistrel Aircraft and Karem. Uber’s eVTOL requirements specify that this fully electric vehicle have a cruising speed between 150-200 mph, a cruising altitude of 1000-2000 feet and be able to do trips of up to 60 miles on a single charge.
Last year, Uber announced its intention to launch flight demonstrations of Uber Air in Dallas-Fort Worth/Frisco Texas and Los Angeles in 2020 and commercially available trips by 2023. To help create Skyports for the Uber Air network, Uber has also entered into real estate partnerships with Hillwood Properties and Sandstone Properties. Last fall, Uber released the first video of the Uber Air experience.
At the 2018 Elevate Summit, Uber announced an exclusive Space Act with NASA to focus on traffic management technologies and the impacts of urban air mobility [UAM]. The company is also collaborating with E-One Moli to produce lithium ion battery packs for vehicles and has signed a Joint Work Statement with the U.S. Army to research electric propulsion technology.