Uber Air Gold Coast: Calls to bring air taxi service to city to solve traffic problems

It will take Gold Coasters just 15 minutes to fly to Brisbane under a proposal to bring air taxi service Uber Air to the Glitter Strip.

THE Coomera Connector is just the start of solving the city’s transport crisis, with Mayor Tom Tate pushing to bring flying cars to the Gold Coast.

Cr Tate will next week write to US-based rideshare giant Uber calling for it to bring its proposed air taxi service to the city.

Uber Air is set to have a trial in Victoria next year.

According to Uber the service would use small automated electric aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing.

If successful, the Gold Coast would be the second city in Australia to have Uber Air following Melbourne, which will begin trialling it next year and launch commercial services in 2023.

Speaking at a Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce transport forum yesterday, the Mayor said hi-tech solutions were needed in addition to the creation of the new arterial road and upgrades of the existing network and rail services.

Mayor Tom Tate told a transport forum he wants the service to run on the Gold Coast.

Cr Tate said he wanted helipads for the air taxis placed in prominent locations, including Home of the Arts (HOTA) at Evandale as well as part of future high-rise developments.

“If we have helipads I want to see one at HOTA,” he told the Bulletin.

“I am told it would take 12-15 minutes to get to Brisbane Airport from there and for four people it would cost around $150 each.

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”.

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“A cost of $150 each to stay off the M1? Hell yes.

“Like they say in Back to the Future, where we’re going we don’t need roads.”

Along with Melbourne, Uber Air will also launch in the US city of Dallas and Los Angeles.

Such a service would require the approval of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)

It’s not the only hi-tech solution being looked at.

The Mayor will write to Uber.

Speaking after the forum, Cr Tate also said he wanted to see the Gold Coast follow Ipswich in trialling driverless automated cars.

Neil Scales, Department of Transport and Main Roads director-general, told the forum the Coast needed to embrace new technology.

Mayor Tom Tate talks at the forum. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“(Driverless cars) are one of the most exciting advancements I’ve seen in three decades and we see great opportunities for that,” he said.

“We can build more roads but they just fill up, we can add more services on the network but they’ll fill up too. Somehow we have to be smarter.

“The Gold Coast is up there in terms of embracing new technology.”