Autonomous vehicles are already doing so well with two dimensions, why not add a z-axis?
The skies over parts of the US could soon get busier, as the Federal Aviation Administration launches pilot projects spanning 26 states to test electric air taxis and other next-gen aircraft, with operations expected to begin by summer 2026.
Selections for the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) were announced by the FAA on Monday, with eight projects chosen to participate in the initiative. The program will run for three years after the first project begins operations, and the selected efforts span 26 states.
According to the FAA, the projects will explore operational concepts including urban air taxi services, regional passenger transportation, cargo and logistics networks, emergency medical response operations, autonomous flight technologies, and offshore or energy-sector transportation.
“These partnerships will help us better understand how to safely and efficiently integrate these aircraft into the National Airspace System,” said FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau. “The program will provide valuable operational experience that will inform the standards needed to enable safe Advanced Air Mobility operations.”
When I was a student in Germany, I lived in a Dorf of some 700 people, 10km from the school in the “big” city – Hameln. If the weather was good, I’d bike to school through wheat fields. If it was bad, the Stadtkreis (regional government, but not state level; roughly akin to a county) had regular bus service to get into town.
Once in Hameln, wheels were rare. All of downtown was a pedestrian zone, and where that ended was about a five-minute walk from the train station. At which point I could take a regional train to Hannover, and from there, an ICE (not the bad one, the Intercity Express) that could get me to France or Switzerland in only a few hours, without any customs or airport bullshit. And the trains were, of course, all electric, and ran on time (leave it to the Germans!).
This was 30 years ago, and we’re still trying to figure out basic transport here that has been in use for decades.
Having traveled there myself, I’m so freaking jealous. It’s absolute insanity that us American’s have the gall to say we’re the “best country on earth” but can’t even move our citizens around efficiently. I’ve heard all of the excuses. It’s too expensive, we’re not close together, we’re too big, americans don’t like taking the train. All horseshit. Other larger countries have done it, others have changed their culture, it’s absolutely stupid that we haven’t done it.
It all boils down to one singular fact in my years of advocacy. Car/oil companies do not want Americans discovering that they are wasting their lives and money behind the wheel of cars, because they have never been as profitable as they are now.
Car culture has somehow been subsumed into the “rugged individualism” umbrella. I recall one instance where I had to call my host family for a ride, but otherwise, we were all able to get around on transit.
You get to a bigger city, and now you have trams. This is my favourite way to travel in town. They’re quiet, reliable, and don’t hinder vehicle traffic. Even better is they get priority lights so that they aren’t dealing with turning vehicles at each signaled intersection.