By : Melissa Repko
Three years from now, Dallas could be testing out its own version of The Jetsons cartoon with flying taxis shuttling through the skies.
At least that’s the grand vision of Uber, the San Francisco ride-hailing company that unveiled an aggressive six-year goal for rolling out small aircraft that could be used on demand throughout the region.
Uber announced Tuesday that Dallas-Fort Worth is the first location in the U.S. chosen for Uber Elevate, an effort to build a network of on-demand flying cars or VTOLs (vertical take off and landing) aircraft. Uber’s chief product officer Jeff Holden said testing will begin in Dallas-Fort Worth by 2020.
Flying cars are latest craze in Silicon Valley, with more than a dozen startups seeking to develop them. Holden said they are one more way Uber is pushing the envelope in transportation, citing its efforts to bring autonomous vehicles into its fleet.
But some in the aviation are skeptical about the practicality or desirability of flying taxis.
