What will the transportation hubs of the future look like? That’s a question that can have many answers, from high-speed rail to supersonic jets. For travelers looking to take a shorter trip but avoid ground transportation, there’s also the concept of flying taxis — which might be a reality sooner than expected.
Still, the existence of flying taxis poses a logistical hurdle for many urban planners. Traffic in cities can be bad enough when it’s restricted to streets; the idea of complex traffic jams developing in the skies is cause for a next-level headache. All of which makes the announcement of a new venture in Coventry, England — one which offers a glimpse of what the future might look like around the world — that much more intriguing.
A new article at AutoBlog offers more details on the project, which finds British startup Urban-Air Port teaming with Hyundai on what the article describes as “a project aimed at demonstrating how air taxis will work in urban centers.”
A temporary installation in Coventry’s city center will demonstrate what such an airport would look like. It’ll be open to the public beginning in November, and visitors will be able to see a drone and an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle there.
Urban-Air Port founder Ricky Sandhu spoke of the importance of tying this piece of infrastructure to existing infrastructure. “You can’t get off the train or get on the train unless you get to the train station, so that supporting ground infrastructure is absolutely key,” Sandhu said.
It’s a glimpse of what the future might look like — and a fascinating proof of concept for the next generation of transportation.
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