Air Taxi Services Set to Hit Nairobi Skies

Transport in Nairobi is set to drastically revolutionize in ways unwitnessed before following the planned launch of air taxi services in the city.

Nairobi is one of 23 cities in 13 countries that have been earmarked by McFly.aero for infrastructural development to support the launch of air taxis service that will see customers install an app, buy tokens, request a flight and beat traffic jam while enjoying spectacular views.

The technological revolution will see numerous helipads and heliports constructed in partnership with real estate developers for the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) of the flying cars.
[caption caption="A flying taxi in display in Dubai"][/caption]

According to the developers, the cars will be driven on auto-pilot, which is statistically proven to be safer than human pilots, and the customer will only be required to point directions to their destination.

At a cost of Sh800 per minute, customers will be picked and dropped at the nearest landing pads which will be within a 5-10-minute walking distance from their location or destination.

The flying cars will be powered by electricity or hydrogen and are expected to be efficient in fuel consumption.

Besides, the air taxis will produce less noise hence making them preferable to helicopters.

Initial test flights for the taxi services by the manufacturers are expected to take place between March and May 2018.

The flying cars are projected to have a flight time of 30 minutes cruising at a speed of between 150 km/h and 300km/h at a maximum flying height of 1,000 metres above the ground.

[caption caption="Artistic concept of a flying taxi"][/caption]

Manufacturers have put the initial production cost per vehicle at Sh12 Million with the price expected to drop rapidly to between Sh3-4 Million once mass production commences.