K'taka govt plans to give Bengaluru air-taxis soon

  • | Wednesday | 20th March, 2019

The possibility of air mobility, though still in the nascent stage, gives some hope to Bengalureans who are at their wits' end due to worsening road traffic. The company, along with the urban development department, is looking at building 200 landing pads on highrises and other places in Bengaluru. “Entrepreneurs must take charge of the possibilities of deploying this quantum leap in technology and flying cars over populated areas in Bengaluru,” they added. A rapidly growing urban population needs more options for commuting and this mode can be a gamechanger. These are passenger- carrying aerial vehicles which can land and take off even from interior areas of the city.

TimesView For a harried urban dweller, commuting through traffic-clogged streets is an everyday nightmare. The possibility of air mobility, though still in the nascent stage, gives some hope to Bengalureans who are at their wits' end due to worsening road traffic. A rapidly growing urban population needs more options for commuting and this mode can be a gamechanger. Time saved and reduction in sound and air pollution are a positive fallout. Now, that the government has given the project a push, it should ensure that work is expedited. BENGALURU: If everything goes as per the state government’s plans, Bengaluru may soon become the country’s first city to have air-taxis.Sources in the urban development department said a feasibility study will be taken up to explore the possibilities of having electric air-taxi service in the city. Mobility firms McFly .aero and HeliTaxii have been given in-principle approval for conducting the study.McFly.aero, a London-based firm, which has deployed air-taxis in Moscow, Tarusa and Dubai, is planning to do the same in Singapore and London. The company, along with the urban development department, is looking at building 200 landing pads on highrises and other places in Bengaluru. However, only about four of these pads are certified by the directorate general of civil aviation, ministry of civil aviation, but there’s scope for utilizing the rest for the service.Air-taxis, which are being operated by more than 150 firms across the world, have a seating capacity of four with a total payload capacity of 400kg. They can reach an altitude of 1,000 metres and fly at a speed of 300km per hour.McFly’s plan is to deploy E-VTOL (electric vertical-take-off landing) aircraft as air-taxi or flying car service. These are passenger- carrying aerial vehicles which can land and take off even from interior areas of the city. However, a lot more needs to be in place. Air corridors have to be established between the landing pads, geofences zoned and electric charging stations integrated to every landing pad.McFly.aero along with HeliTaxii will launch an urban lab conference for air mobility in Bengaluru on March 28. The aim is to work with aviation authorities to set industry standards, initiate capacity-building dialogue with governments, stakeholders, investors and entrepreneurs and gain an understanding of the technical requirements of landing pads in Bengaluru.Wassaf Akthar and Sumanth Kedilaya, strategic consultants, McFly.aero, said a poor urban transport system not only restricts urban economic growth, but also degrades the quality of life through congestion, pollution and accidents among others. “The rapidly growing urban population exerts pressure on the transport system. The resultant deterioration in the system will be reflected in lower economic productivity which is why urgent measures are necessary to tackle this problem. There is a need for inter-modal transportation system,” they said.They said though the flying-car technology may not be underlying anymore, regulations and frameworks must be legislated by the combined effort of the state and central governments. “Entrepreneurs must take charge of the possibilities of deploying this quantum leap in technology and flying cars over populated areas in Bengaluru,” they added.

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