Eric Allison, Uber Elevate: Flying Taxis and the Future of Mobility

Our cultural obsession with flying cars has been well-documented: the 1927 film Metropolis, the 1960s cartoon The Jetsons, the 1980s Back to the Future movies. But flying cars have always been a sci-fi fantasy, not a reality. That may be changing sooner than we realize. At CES 2020, Uber and Hyundai announced the first air taxi, the all-electric S-A1. According to Eric Allison, Head of Uber Elevate, this is just the beginning. He joins the podcast to talk about the vision of Uber Elevate, how Uber is integrating air travel into our end-to-end mobility experience, and using partners, data, and people to make flying taxis a reality.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• How Uber is working to build the “operating system for cities” through partnership-driven strategy and a deep understanding of urban mobility
• How both human insight and data analysis are informing the design, operation, and “inside out” passenger experience
• Why local community engagement is so important to understanding and addressing the concerns of those affected (e.g., citizens, policy makers, and governments)
• How Uber Copter and VR simulations have served as a rich testing ground for passenger feedback
• The environmental, safety, and consumer cost challenges — and how is Uber addressing them
• When will we really be able to hop in an air taxi?