Early Thursday, Axios reported that Uber is in advanced talks to sell Uber Elevate to the US aerospace startup, Joby Aviation.
The company marketed Uber Elevate, formerly known as Uber Air, as an “urban aviation ride-sharing product.” Uber put forth the service as a response to ease the congestion caused by traffic on the ground.
Uber earlier announced that this initiative would be coming to Australia. In its statement, it said that it envisions safe and quiet electric vehicles transporting people across cities for the same price as an UberX trip over the same distance.
Uber entered the Australian market before it could receive any positive signals from the state or territory governments. The company says that before the pandemic hit they were working with the appropriate parties. But regulation in Australia was proving to be difficult.
To start operations with its aircraft, Uber first requires to pass through the vigorous approval processes from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority(CASA), Australia. CASA is the aviation safety regulating body in Australia. Uber has to get approval from the CASA for its pilots, permission to carry passengers, and also for the aircraft itself.
The Australian government also has other issues such as that Uber proposed an aircraft and a purpose that for now does not come under any pre-existing category. Government-owned, Airservices Australia would also not be responsible for Uber Elevate, since these services are only responsible for aircraft flying above 1,000 meters.
In July, Uber said it had met with Australian-based partners and will now be focusing on piloting the core technology in the US since most of their partners have to began developing their aircraft there. they also plan to receive certification from The United States.
Lastly, they added that Uber Air would continue working with local partners to bring this vision of a safe, reliable, clean, quiet, and affordable air mobility service, to life.
