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https://thedriven.io/2026/02/27/flying-electric-taxis-poised-to-swoop-for-brisbane-olympics/>
"Flying taxis could swoop into Australia in time for the Brisbane Olympic Games
after a tech giant publicly demonstrated the first of its electric aircraft.
Uber and its partner Joby Aviation held a public test of the unique flying
machine in the Dubai desert on Thursday, revealing plans to launch a commercial
air service with the futuristic vehicles later in 2026.
The flying taxi service will begin transporting passengers between four
skyports in Dubai before expanding to New York and Los Angeles, followed by
cities in the UK and Japan.
But one of the aviation firm’s top executives said the 2032 Olympic Games was
also on its radar and the company was in talks with Australia’s Civil Aviation
and Safety Authority about certification.
The announcement comes more than five years after Uber nominated Melbourne as
one of the first launch pads for a flying taxi service before pulling out of
the project.
The US firm announced plans to revive its air travel ambitions in partnership
with Joby Aviation as the technology and cities had evolved significantly, Uber
autonomous mobility operations global head Annie Duvnjak said.
“Getting to the sky is certainly the place we envision next,” Ms Duvnjak said.
“As cities have gotten bigger and congested… this is a great opportunity to
have different options to save time, to have people take different ways to get
to airports or to work.”
When launched, the flying taxis will appear within the Uber app as a
time-saving option, with rides to and from the aircraft’s launch pad built into
each journey.
An hour-long road trip could be reduced to an 11-minute flight using the
aircraft, according to Uber estimates, and is expected to command a similar fee
to an Uber Black ride.
“We can’t wait to fully take off publicly, but it’s really closer than you
think,” Ms Duvnjak said.
The aircraft features six propellers and four batteries for redundancy, is
capable of flying at speeds of up to 320km/h and promises to be significantly
quieter than a helicopter."
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
