Joby Aviation Air Taxi: Founder Predicts Electric Service Will Launch in 2025

Joby Aviation Air Taxi: Imagine flying effortlessly above traffic jams and congested streets aboard an electric-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically – that is the goal of Joby Aviation of California who are creating an air taxi service with zero emission aircrafts that seat six people per plane.

What is Joby Aviation?

Joby Aviation is an innovator in urban air mobility (UAM). Established by JoeBen Bevirt – an entrepreneur and inventor – Joby Aviation has raised more than $800 million from investors including Toyota, Uber, and JetBlue since 2009.

Joby S4 is their flagship tilt-rotor aircraft, capable of reaching 200 miles per hour and traveling 150 miles on one single charge. Equipped with four electric motors that can rotate 90 degrees, enabling it to take off and land like a helicopter and fly like a plane simultaneously, while still remaining quiet, safe, and comfortable with spacious cabin seating, large windows, and an integrated parachute system.

When will Joby Aviation launch its service?

Joby Aviation plans to introduce their air taxi service by 2025 according to Bevirt’s presentation at Reuters Next conference in January 2021. He stated that Joby Aviation was working with regulators such as FAA for approval for their aircraft and operations as well as building an extensive network of landing pads across US cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York for their service to launch in.

Bevirt believes Joby Aviation will revolutionize urban transportation by offering faster, cheaper and greener alternatives to cars, buses and trains. His vision for Joby Aviation’s service is making air travel accessible and affordable for everyone; with prices similar to UberX fares of approximately $1 per passenger mile.

What are the challenges and opportunities for Joby Aviation?

Joby Aviation faces several hurdles and opportunities as it prepares to launch its service in 2025, such as:

• Regulatory barriers: Joby Aviation must abide by stringent safety and environmental standards set by the FAA and other authorities, while also cooperating with air traffic control systems and other users of airspace.
• Joby Aviation must gain public acceptance as it must demonstrate to potential customers and stakeholders that its services are safe, dependable, and will bring significant societal and environmental benefits.
• Joby Aviation will face competition from other UAM players such as Volocopter, Lilium and EHang who are developing electric air taxis and services of their own.

Some of these opportunities include:

• Joby Aviation predicts that the UAM market will reach $500 billion by 2030, with daily demand in the US reaching 4.6 million air taxi trips.
• Joby Aviation claims its service will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution and congestion; improve air quality and public health; as well as boost public health in general.
• Joby Aviation’s innovation goal is to leverage cutting-edge technologies, engineering designs, and customer experiences in order to offer superior customer experiences while remaining at the forefront of UAM industry competition.

Conclusion

Joby Aviation is a pioneering UAM company with an ambitious plan: to revolutionise urban transportation with their electric air taxi service. Due to launch their service by 2025 using zero emission six seater aircrafts capable of flying up to 200 mph with 150 mile ranges – Joby Aviation has an ambitious goal, yet they remain confident they can accomplish it successfully and offer something revolutionary for both people and planet.