There’s a lot of excitement around flying cars right now – even if they are basically just giant drones. Whether piloted or autonomous, taxis or private vehicles, they’ve been hailed by futurists as the ideal way to reduce journey times across urban landscapes, thus easing city road congestion. But despite the media hype (or perhaps because of it), there are reasons to be skeptical of this vision.
Mobility Lab’s Howard Jennings, is quoted in the article: “The thought of millions of privately owned flying cars should raise red flags, just like personal cars should have decades ago. We’re already learning from projections that driverless vehicles could make traffic worse if we don’t make smart planning decisions and policies.”
The article also notes the demands flying cars could place on the environment.
Mobility Lab’s perspective on this point is that they could produce harmful levels of increased air pollution. Luckily, it seems all of the major players are examining how to make them powered by a hybrid of gas and electric. Battery technology to make flying cars fully electric powered is at the very least a good 10 years away. Noise pollution could be less of a concern because they might be similarly to quiet contemporary drones.
In terms of congestion, we would add that there’s no question airspace is much less congested than most roadways down on the ground, except for near the largest airports across the country. But if all these new aircraft are introduced, there will need to be a whole new level of effective management of skies.
Also see our recent article on whether flying cars might be introduced along the East Coast.