This electric flying taxi has been approved for takeoff — sort of

Guess the only ones using this will be the politicians and lobbyists

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""Unless there will be funding mechanisms to make this an affordable option to all, integrating it into existing transit systems, I don't think it will be accessible to all," she tells NPR over email, adding that local governments may not have a say in how they operate because the skies are regulated by the FAA.

Hurtado also points out that while air taxis are being billed as sustainable, that depends on how they're being used.

"If it replaces the person who would be driving or taking a taxi, it might generate less [greenhouse gas] emissions for that one trip, but how many air taxis would we need to replace the majority of cars in one particular route?" she added. "I wouldn't want to see a sky crowded with air taxis."

In an ideal world, Hurtado says, air taxis would fill existing gaps in urban transportation systems rather than create new ones. She'd also like to see cities take a more proactive approach to transportation planning in general, and learn from past mistakes.

That would mean, for example, considering the negative impacts not only of where air taxis land and take off, but along their route as well.

"Too often in the past have transportation projects impacted marginalized communities and disadvantaged populations," she wrote, pointing to highways as an example. "I hope these mistakes won't be repeated with this type of transportation system.""