Uber Of The Sky? Air Taxis Are On The Way

Air taxis are getting closer to becoming a reality, the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported, with startups hoping to eventually see the service priced similarly to Uber Black.

In fact, Joby Aviation in Santa Cruz has partnered with Uber, the newspaper reported, as well as completed a flight between Marina and Monterey in 12 minutes.

San Jose-based Archer Aviation has plans to build a port in the biotech hub of Oyster Point in South San Francisco and to start commercial service later in the year in the United Arab Emirates, after unveiling a five-seater plane called Midnight in April, according to the Chronicle.

In May, Archer announced it was named the Official Air Taxi Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA. The company plans to use Midnight to ferry athletes and visitors between the Southland's spread-out Olympic infrastructure in minutes.

The companies must still contend with Federal Aviation Administration certification as well as infrastructure, customer and airspace challenges, the newspaper reported.