HOW POPULAR WILL AIR TAXIS BE IN FUTURE?
Dr Terence Fan, assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University (SMU), said: “On the leisure side of things, there’s always some interest in riding these air taxis for people viewing scenic spots.
“For Singapore actually, there’s quite a bit of a skyline. Certainly, we can have air taxis as another way for people to view the city.”
From the business needs perspective, air taxis are usually used for less-served destinations, he told CNA’s Singapore Tonight on Thursday.
“In Singapore overall, I’m afraid we’re quite built-up. So, there aren’t many remote destinations that are difficult to reach. But we can certainly still see air taxis as a way to sort of bypass congested areas.”
The use of air taxis would be more likely in “other metropolises around the region with greater issues on traffic congestion”, Dr Fan noted.
“(For) Singapore, we’re not that bad in terms of traffic,” he added. “So, I think that’s a bit too far-fetched. There are certainly some niches but maybe not every day, for everyone.”
Observers said there could be little difference in using air taxis to travel across borders, despite the convenience they offer.
“There are certain (immigration) constraint points at which people have to go through,” Dr Fan said.
“So I think in the near future, we still have to envision these air taxis stopping by these checkpoints before they can go further.”