Here coming the « flying cars. »
Donald Trump, who was backed by a bunch of tech billionaires during this past presidential election, is busy transforming America into a corporate dystopia straight out of the 1980s science fiction films that those billionaires have long admired for all the wrong reasons. For one thing, Trump has fully embraced AI—helping to cut what little regulation existed under the Biden administration, in an effort to further liberate the already blossoming and disruptive new industry. He also recently paved the way for more self-driving cars on America’s roadways. Now, Trump is turning his attention to Air Taxis.
On Friday, former Road Rules contestant and Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, unveiled a plan to “Fast-Track Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles.” That plan involves a pilot program, dubbed the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), which will consist of a public-private partnership involving the government and an unknown number of aviation companies. The program will involve “at least five” projects, and will take place over the course of three years. The government also says that state and local governments will be asked to work together with participating companies to come up with new regulatory frameworks to accommodate the new vehicles.
What sort of needs will these experimental new vehicles serve? The government lists short-range air taxi flights, “longer-range, fixed wing flights,” and flights based around cargo transportation, logistics, and supply serving emergency management, as well as medical transport or offshore energy assistance.
