Imagine taking a flying taxi to the airport, or jumping over crowded city streets at rush hour, getting where you want to go far faster than you could in a car. Believe it or not, you might be able to do these things in an air taxi sooner than you think.
An air taxi is something like a helicopter(直升机) that can carry people from place to place. And it can go straight up and down without a long runway.
An American company called Joby Aviation has started testing their new air taxi. This is the first time they' ve tested a taxi that' s been built in a factory. Before that, all their taxis were made by hand. By 2025, Joby hopes to start carrying passengers for money. They' ve teamed up with Delta Air Lines to create a program to fly people from their homes to the airport. Besides the pilot, Joby' s air taxis can carry four other passengers. They can go around 100 miles before the electric batteries(电池) need to be recharged.
Compared with helicopters, Joby says their air taxis are both quieter and cheaper. Users need to pay about $3 a mile at first. But over time, the price was brought down to less than $1 a mile.
Although the idea of flying taxis is exciting, some people are still concerned about them. The air taxis may be quieter than helicopters, but they' ll still be adding noise and traffic to our skies. Some people worry that only rich people will be able to afford to use them.
It seems likely that air taxis will be part of the future travel. But there' s still a lot to do before air taxis become common.
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