Uber unveils ambitious plans for Australia

Uber’s flying taxis will be able to cruise at 290km/h, getting you to the airport in record time. But that’s not all it has in store for us.

This week Uber has made some significant announcements that highlight their focus on multi-modal transportation.

When Uber was first introduced to the market, it was perceived as a taxi alternative. Today, they are viewed as a platform for all methods of transportation. From scooters to flights, Uber wants to be the only app you need.

The introduction of electric bikes to Australia is not unique and we’ve seen some brands come and go already.

Uber is bringing their versions to Australia under the JUMP label which are designed with the failures of others in mind. These bikes are dockless so they will be able to be ridden to where you need exactly before moving on foot or into a different Uber.

Being electric, you’ll need to pedal but at far less effort than a normal bike. Fortunately you’ll turn up to your date or meeting without a sweat.

The bikes also appear to have been built with a stronger build quality and Uber plan for them to last. Prior brands were often found with broken pedals, missing seats or bent wheels. With GPS tracking on the bike, Uber will be able to keep track of their fleet for maintenance and servicing regularly. Selecting a JUMP bike will soon appear as just another option when you need to get from A to B.

When Uber was first introduced to the market, it was perceived as a taxi alternative. Today, they are viewed as a platform for all methods of transportation.

For those who prefer the use of public transport, Uber is working with local transportation companies to bring ticketing into their app. This means that a tourist to Las Vegas wouldn’t need to learn the timetable, the ticketing options or what their transport service is even called. They would open the Uber app, add their destination and decide which mode of transport to take with estimated prices. If a bus, train, ferry or tram is selected it would tell you where to wait and the ETA of your pick up. You could opt to grab a scooter or bike to fill the gap too. Timings on when this will come to Australia are yet to be confirmed, currently launching in the US this is sadly one of those conversations Uber needs to have with every transport organisation in every state and country.

While those are options Uber is adding to their app in various parts of the world today, one that Australia will get from launch is Uber Air.

The flying taxi is designed for Uber Elevate's upcoming urban air travel service. Picture: Robyn Beck

Where Uber is going, they won’t need roads. The announcement in June 2019 that Uber was taking to the skies and selecting Melbourne to be one of its launch sites was exciting, but now we know who will be providing these insane Personal Air Vehicles (PAV).

Hyundai, who has been manufacturing vehicles since 1967, is taking steps into the sky with this partnership with Uber.

The life-size model was on display at CES featuring eight rotors. This PAV will take off, land and fly like a DJI drone. The added rotors aren’t just for extra propulsion either, they’re also for added stability should one ever fail.

The Hyundai S-A1 electric Urban Air Mobility concept is displayed January 7, 2020 at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Picture: Robyn Beck

The Hyundai PAV will be able to cruise at 290km/h between 1000 – 3000 ft of altitude, well away from commercial airlines and certainly getting you to the airport in record time.

The Uber Air will have seating for four and one pilot. Carry-on luggage is acceptable but no checked luggage, as time progresses the PAV will become autonomous and the extra seat could be reassigned for a passenger and potentially one extra.

As the Hyundai PAV is fully electric the noise levels produced will be far less than a traditional helicopter, meaning that landing near Crown Casino for example should not be a problem for the neighbourhood.

Hyundai and Uber flying taxi partnership.

Each flight will require a five to seven minute recharge which would occur while passengers embark and disembark the flight. The flights would be fixed point to point so you would need to add another Uber service into the fix for the entire door to door experience.

The ambitious goal to deliver this is 2023 and while Hyundai doesn’t currently have experience in building helicopters, drones or aeroplanes, they know how to manufacture on mass scales. So with enough time, development and testing, we could expect to see more than one of these take the skies very quickly.

Hyundai has created a full-scale “air taxi” for Uber’s upcoming Air service that will launch in Melbourne. The companies revealed the partnership at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Picture: Supplied

Geoff Quattromani travelled to CES as a guest of Jabra, Uber, LG and HERE Technologies. Continue the conversation on Twitter @GQuattromani