Like a bus: Dubai’s air taxis to operate as everyday public transport, not luxury rides, says RTA CEO

Dubai’s upcoming air taxi service will function as a core part of the city’s public transport network – not a premium or tourist-only experience, said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the Public Transport Agency at the Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Talking about the city’s preparations with air taxi maker Joby Aviation and Skyports Infrastructure, Bahrozyan said the ambition is to integrate air taxis into Dubai’s everyday mobility system, eventually offering coverage comparable to a bus network.

“We are not doing a service just to take a few tourist rides or a few businesspeople from point A to point B every day. We want this service to be a very important part of mobility in the city of Dubai,” he told Gulf News on the sidelines of Dubai Airshow.

The rollout will begin with four vertiports and a limited number of aircraft, but the long-term strategy is expansive. As demand grows and prices fall with economies of scale, the RTA expects the network to eventually include tens of vertiports across Dubai, enabling residents to use air taxis much like any other mode of public transport.

Dubai International Vertiport (DXV) – the flagship hub under construction near Dubai International Airport – will be capable of handling up to 42,000 landings annually once fully operational. While initial operations will be far smaller, the infrastructure is being built with long-term mass adoption in mind.

Bahrozyan said Dubai aims to be among the first – if not the first – cities in the world to introduce commercial air taxi services.

“From day one, we'll have 4 vertiports with only a few aircraft. But the network will expand. Eventually it will be similar to a bus network where you have tens of stations around the city, and people will be able to use the air taxi like they are using a bus, for example,” he said. “It will take some time. But the ambition is there, the vision is there, and inshallah we will succeed.”

Apart from DXV, Joby will operate from three other vertiports: the American University of Dubai, Atlantis the Royal and the Dubai Mall ensuring high-speed, emissions-free connections between some of Dubai’s major landmarks as part of its six-year exclusive agreement with the RTA to establish air taxi services in the Emirate. 
Recently, Joby successfully completed a landmark flight test, becoming the first electric air taxi company to conduct a point-to-point flight in the UAE.
Visitors to Dubai Airshow have the opportunity to see Joby’s aircraft in action.