It may only be a few years before North Texans will be able to simply fly above all those traffic jams. The Bell Air Taxi is on course to begin test flights in the early 2020s.
Fort Worth-based Bell is showing off a full-scale model of its vertical takeoff and landing air taxi at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
And North Texans may be able to hail one for a trip across town in the coming years.
Bell on Monday announced its partners in developing the Bell Nexus. One of the first to partner with Uber, Bell says the hybrid-electric air taxi will use six tilting fans to take off and land vertically from a rooftop or launchpad.
It's a key component of Uber's plans to create a rideshare network made up of flying cars.
CNBC reports the Bell Nexus will be launched to and from vertiports around Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles by 2023, with initial testing beginning as early as mid-2020. Uber called the Nexus a "major step in its push to creating "an on-demand Uber Air network," the report said.
Two Dallas-based companies revealed their vertiport, or skyport, concepts at the Uber Elevate summer in May of last year.
