A hectic day at work, you want to head home quickly, but ah, the traffic and its noise. The solution (more like preference) – get on a hovercraft!
Singapore government is keen on making this possible. As per a Business Times report, the Ministry of Transport is in conversation with a few companies to test trial flying drones. The ministry discussed its vision of urban mobility in 2030 at The Business Times Leaders’ Forum. Permanent Secretary Pang Kin Keong said,
In 2030, you bet your money that aerial transport will also be a means of urban mobility.
We hope so too! He further highlighted various technologies and trends that the government is looking forward to seeing in the island nation. With the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence and availability of data, the trend of ‘smart vehicles’ is on a rise. However, Singapore transport industry faces the constraint of manpower and land. And, hence, by 2030, urban mobility would grow to be more diverse and rich.
Instead of getting your own vehicle, it would more convenient to choose different modes of transport for different kind of journeys. Mr. Pang, gave an example and said, therefore it is possible that you ride in a driverless pod to work, cycle to the gym after work, and go back home in an aerial taxi.
The ministry went on to display three distinct prototypes of passenger flying drones. Russian startup Hoversurf’s Hoversurf Scorpion, China-based startup’s Ehang 184 drone which is expected to fly in Dubai by this July, and Volocopter VC200, a German startup e-volo’s innovation.
Mr. Pang said they are developing on-demand public buses that take the routes with low-ridership. This means buses will take the low-ridership routes that are dynamic and responsive to riders’ real-time demand during off-peak hours. This is still at a development stage, and will probably be out by the end of this year.
