Skip to main content

All-Electric Sky Taxi Service to Launch in Los Angeles in 2021

Amid this ongoing pandemic, most of us are just looking to a future with outdoor concerts, in-person chats with other humans, and not having to dress like a cardiac surgeon to go outside. When we do emerge from our coronavirus cocoons later this summer — or next? — we’ll be one step closer to a future with flying cars. When that happens, it might seem as though you’ve time-traveled, but one innovative California company is promising that reality.

eyflyer Sky Taxi Service
Eflyer

Quantum Air recently announced plans for the world’s first commercial “air taxis.” The tentative program includes a fleet of 26 flying taxis that will shuttle passengers between major points in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In a city that’s notorious for having some of the world’s worst traffic, these taxi trips could replace hours-long car rides with blissfully short flights that take just a matter of minutes.

eyflyer Sky Taxi Service
Eflyer

When most of us think of flying cars, we envision skies filled with go-anywhere eVTOLs hopping from building top to building top. Indeed, such vehicles with eVTOL technology — electric vertical takeoff and landing capability — have existed for decades. But, we’re still years away from fleets of commercial eVTOL craft cruising above the world’s cities.

eyflyer Sky Taxi Service
Eflyer

The vehicles in Quantum’s new flight rely instead on eVTOL or “electric conventional takeoff and landing” technology. From the outside, they resemble traditional two- and four-seater Cessna aircraft, and they likewise require a landing strip of some kind to take off and land. Unlike conventional, gas-powered planes, however, the all-electric vehicles are better for the environment and easier to fly. They’re also much cheaper to maintain and operate, costing just $23 per flight hour compared to $110 per hour for a comparable Cessna 172. While Quantum Air’s plan doesn’t quite herald a Jetsons-esque futurescape of flying cars, it’s a step in the right direction.

eyflyer Sky Taxi Service
Eflyer

Quantum Air intends to launch the fleet sometime in 2021. There’s no official word on the average cost of an air taxi flight. It’s clear, however, that Quantum intends to make the fleet an affordable alternative to ground-based transportation. The company’s CEO, Tony Thompson, said in a statement, “Since the dawn of flight, point to point air travel has been a luxury available only to a privileged few. Quantum’s groundbreaking air taxi service will finally make point-to-point air travel widely available.”

Whatever the cost, it sounds way cooler than a shared Uber ride.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
5 Vehicle Reveals We Can’t Wait to See at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show
2020 Land Rover Defender

While it may not be America’s motor city (hat tip to Detroit), Los Angeles is a hub for car culture. And for a couple of weeks every year, the city invites the world’s biggest and most promising automakers to display the future of their brands. This year’s LA Auto Show is going to be a big one: the event (November 22 through December 1) will host over 65 new vehicles, including 25 world debuts.

But even fast fingers will get tired swiping through more than 65 articles, so we’ve whittled the list to the five vehicles we are most excited to see. Some are firsts for well-known brands, some are firsts for newcomers, and some are long-awaited reboots — and all are ridiculously cool. Keep tabs on this link for updated photos and info in the days ahead.
2021 Land Rover Defender
When the convention center doors open, we’re making a beeline to the Land Rover display. Why? Since the Defender — and before it, the original Land Rover Series —- first entered production in the 1940s, it’s been forbidden fruit for Americans. With the introduction of 2021 Defender, we finally get a bite of the apple (which will probably be dirty because of all the time it spends off-road).

Read more
The All-New 2021 Corvette Stingray Is a Mid-Engine Supercar for the Everyman
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Reveal

For many, the Corvette will always be the quintessential American sports car. Chevy has sold more than 1.7 million since the car’s debut in 1953, and it’s evolved far beyond what anyone thought possible in the ensuing decades. But, fans have long clamored for the layout that legendary Chevrolet designer Zora Arkus-Duntov envisioned for the Corvette more than 50 years ago. Now, the elusive mid-engine design is finally here, and it promises to be a game-changer — for under $60,000.

At this month’s massive reveal at a blimp hangar in Tustin, California, Chevy dropped a bombshell. After decades of steady evolution, its 2020 Corvette Stingray (known colloquially as “C8”) will be an entirely different animal. Chevy carried over only a single part from the previous C7 generation design. The canopy-forward body is sharper, more angular, more reminiscent of modern fighter jet design. It’s bold, aggressive, and vaguely European, yet undeniably Corvette.

Read more
Lotus Unleashes an Absurd, 2,000-Horsepower All-Electric Hypercar
lotus evija electric hypercar 10

For decades, despite its legendary history, Lotus seemed one failed model away from fading into obscurity. That it hadn’t released a new car in more than a decade only seemed to be further proof. Evidently, the company was cleverly biding its time, waiting for the right moment to strike. This month, the British automaker dropped a bombshell on the automotive world in the form of an all-new, all-electric hypercar monster.

Let’s not bury the lede: The Lotus Evija (pronounced “EVE-eye-ah”) will be the most powerful production car ever built. It won’t just be the most powerful electric car, but the most powerful production car, period. On paper, the numbers are absurd. The one worth paying attention to, however, is 1,972 horsepower (that’s 2,000 metric horsepower). To put that into perspective, consider that the Bugatti Chiron launches from 0 to 186 miles per hour in just 13.6 seconds. The new Evija needs only 8.6 seconds — a full five seconds faster.

Read more