This electric flying taxi has been approved for takeoff \u2014 sort of
By Rachel Treisman
Joby Aviation has gotten FAA permission to begin test-flying its first production prototype aircraft. (c) Joby Aero Inc. hide caption
toggle caption (c) Joby Aero Inc.Joby Aviation has gotten FAA permission to begin test-flying its first production prototype aircraft.
(c) Joby Aero Inc.Electric air taxis got one step closer to liftoff this week, when federal regulators gave one company the green light to start flight testing its new production prototype.
California-based transportation company Joby Aviation that the Federal Aviation Administration had granted its aircraft a "," which allows it to operate in U.S. airspace with certain restrictions.
The FAA confirmed in an email to NPR that it had issued the certificate "for research and development purposes" on June 21. It said it had also granted one to a similar vehicle made by another company, Archer, the week before.
This is actually the third Joby aircraft to get this certification, the FAA confirmed. The company has been building and flying pre-production prototypes thousands of miles since 2017.
But this time around is significant, because it's the first of its factory-built vehicles to be approved for test flights. Until now, , the company could only demo a prototype made by hand — as opposed to the ones now coming off its production line.
Joby aims to begin commercial passenger operations in the U.S. in 2025, pending FAA certification. It has to deliver a "transformational, sustainable home-to-airport transportation service" for fliers, set to roll out first in New York and Los Angeles.
That means customers in those cities would be able to reserve a seat for air taxi trips to and from the airports when booking Delta flights, the companies say.
An shows one such journey, from a heliport in downtown Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport, completed in seven minutes (as opposed to 49 minutes by car).
Beyond airport trips, Joby advertises its air taxis as "an aerial rideshare service" that customers can book through an app, as an alternative to ground transportation — at least in some ways.
What exactly is a flying taxi?
These Jetson-esque contraptions are technically known as eVTOL aircraft, which stands for "electric vertical take-off and landing."
is designed to carry four passengers and one pilot at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, and can travel up to 150 miles on a single charge.
The company says it will be significantly quieter than helicopters — and more affordable, too.
Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt told the the company hopes to begin services at an average price of around $3 per mile — comparable to that of an taxi or Uber — and eventually move that down to below $1 per mile.
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"Our goal is to actually be competitive with the cost of ground transportation, but to deliver you to your destination ... five times faster and with a dramatically better experience," Bevirt on Wednesday.
Many eVTOL companies are working closely with automakers to make their products a reality (which attributes to automakers' interest in electrification and manufacturing expertise).
In Joby's case, that partner — and its largest external shareholder — is Toyota. Toyota has invested some $400 million in the company since 2020, and collaborated on the design of its production line and the manufacturing of the aircraft itself.
Dozens of its engineers work with the Joby team in California, and the two signed a in April for Toyota to supply key parts for the aircraft's production.
The company aims to begin commercial passenger operations in the U.S. in 2025, and already has a partnership with Delta Air Lines. (c) Joby Aero, Inc. hide caption
toggle caption (c) Joby Aero, Inc.The company aims to begin commercial passenger operations in the U.S. in 2025, and already has a partnership with Delta Air Lines.
(c) Joby Aero, Inc.What happens next?
On Wednesday, Joby unveiled the first aircraft to come off its pilot production line in Marina, Calif., in front of a crowd of employees and guests including California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"Today's achievement is the culmination of years of investment in our processes and technology and it marks a major step on our journey to scaled production," Bevirt said in a statement.
Several are headed to Edwards Air Force Base in California next year as part of Joby's $131 million . They will be used to "demonstrate a range of potential logistics use cases, including cargo and passenger transportation."
Regulators — and competitors — are laying the groundwork
The FAA says it's steadily preparing for air taxi travel to become a reality — at least, at some point.
In May, the agency released an for airspace and procedure changes to accommodate this type of aircraft. Earlier this month, it proposed a for training and certifying pilots.
And it says it will be releasing an implementation plan next month that shows how all of its efforts can help the industry scale safely.
"Safety will dictate the certification timeline, but we could see air taxis in the skies by 2024 or 2025," the FAA said.
While Joby appears to be towards the front of the pack, with dozens of companies.
Another frontrunner, Archer, that it — and its partner, automaker Stellantis — are pivoting from the "concept" to "execution" phase, with its Georgia-based manufacturing facility set to come online by mid-2024.
And companies in other countries, including and , are also working on similar vehicles.
Europe could see flying taxis taking off relatively soon: French officials are of them to people attending the Paris Olympics next summer.
Who gets to fly first?
as providing a "faster, cleaner, and smarter way to carry people through their lives," with "a green alternative to driving that's bookable at the touch of an app."
But, experts say, that doesn't necessarily mean this kind of transportation is going to be available to just anyone who wants to spend less time in rush hour traffic.
, the founding chair of the at the University of California, Davis.But, he writes in an email, the industry faces challenges, from noise to concerns. There's also the optics, he says: "Rich people flying above the rest of us normal folks."
Because this type of transportation will likely mainly be provided by private sector companies, there are concerns that it will exclude low-income people, says Petra Hurtado, the director of research and foresight at the .
"Unless there will be funding mechanisms to make this an affordable option to all, integrating it into existing transit systems, I don't think it will be accessible to all," she tells NPR over email, adding that local governments may not have a say in how they operate because the skies are regulated by the FAA.
Hurtado also points out that while air taxis are being billed as sustainable, that depends on how they're being used.
"If it replaces the person who would be driving or taking a taxi, it might generate less [greenhouse gas] emissions for that one trip, but how many air taxis would we need to replace the majority of cars in one particular route?" she added. "I wouldn't want to see a sky crowded with air taxis."
In an ideal world, Hurtado says, air taxis would fill existing gaps in urban transportation systems rather than create new ones. She'd also like to see cities take a more proactive approach to transportation planning in general, and learn from past mistakes.
That would mean, for example, considering the negative impacts not only of where air taxis land and take off, but along their route as well.
"Too often in the past have transportation projects impacted marginalized communities and disadvantaged populations," she wrote, as an example. "I hope these mistakes won't be repeated with this type of transportation system."
