Will Lilium’s Flying Taxi Service Make Uber and Lyft Obsolete?

The Flying Taxi Competition

As the world gets crazier and our technology gets more advanced, new ideas are proposed that never fail to surprise. Lilium, a German start-up company, has proposed a flying taxi service that they claim will be up and running by 2025. They’re not the only ones, though. Rolls Royce and Boeing have spoken about their own prototypes of flying cars, as well. However, Lilium seems to be the only one providing a service to accompany their new flying cars.

Although this seems like a good idea on surface level, it’s uncertain how customers will react to this new service, Especially with Uber and Lyft, as well as the traditional taxi, still existing…on the ground, at that. Lilium claims that their service will be much faster than traveling with their competitors flying automobiles, but is it safe? Of course, the company can claim that it’s safe. But I’m not going on an airborne death-trap unless there’s certified proof that safety precautions are being made.

What Does This Mean For Already-Existing Companies?

In 2018, Uber drove over 5 billion trips, while Lyft drove about 620 million. With these two companies essentially making taxis obsolete, how likely is it that they will keep their place in this industry? With the idea of flying cars floating about, and reportedly costing the same amount as competing taxi services, is it really likely that Lilium’s flying taxi service will be the next big thing, inevitably making other services such as Uber and Lyft obsolete?

The Verdict

Personally, I think the idea has potential, but I don’t think that it’s going to be a successful service for a little while. Uber was founded in 2009, and didn’t start to see much popularity until around 2014. It takes time to phase out an older, more trusted service, such as Uber phasing out the taxi business. A flying taxi service isn’t necessarily the worst idea, but I wouldn’t expect much from Lilium anytime soon.