Khaberni - The solution to Los Angeles' traffic congestion may soon be just a short flight away, as the city prepares to launch affordable air taxis produced by Archer Aviation, which can reduce travel times from 90 minutes on crowded roads to just 5 minutes, according to the company's CEO, Adam Goldstein.
Goldstein described the project as a once-in-a-generation opportunity, emphasizing that the company aims to have its fleet become the main transportation option in the city ahead of the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.
In this context, the organizing committee for the games (LA28) announced in May that they have chosen Archer as the official air taxi provider for the Team USA and events associated with the occasion, according to the "New York Post".
Since then, the company has signed contracts with major sites and acquired Hawthorne Airport, located just two miles from Los Angeles International Airport and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, to serve as its main operations hub.
The images published by the company show vehicles shaped like large drones with wings.
The aircraft are expected to fly at an altitude similar to helicopters, between 1,500 and 2,000 feet, but they are quieter and more efficient because they rely on several small propellers inside the rotor disc, instead of the large, traditionally noisy rotor of helicopters, which makes them easier to integrate into the crowded skies of the city.
Each fully-loaded aircraft weighs about 6,500 pounds, roughly the weight of a Tesla Model X, with battery life twice that of traditional aircraft.
The manufacturing cost of each aircraft is around 2.5 million dollars, with large-scale production in a massive facility in Atlanta.
Passengers will be able to book flights through the Archer app, at prices similar to those of an Uber Black, making the service accessible to ordinary citizens.
For clarification, the cost of a ride from Los Angeles International Airport to the Coliseum in an Uber Black is less than 100 dollars.
The project is supported by the government through the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, which was launched by the Trump administration to accelerate the trials of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in cities, with the aim of testing them safely and building public confidence before a wide rollout.
The company, along with several others, is expected to begin trial flights next summer in Huntington Beach and other cities, with the possibility of launching commercial flights once official approvals are obtained.
However, the project has faced opposition, as some residents and aviation critics have launched a campaign under the slogan "Stop the flying taxis in Southern California", arguing that the aircraft are noisy, fly at low altitudes, and that the project was launched without sufficient community involvement.
Goldstein asserted that personal experience is more convincing than theoretical talk, recounting how his 70-year-old parents rode a self-driving Tesla, saying: "You need to show them, not just tell them," adding: "I was fortunate that local politics went its course to make this project a tangible reality."
