eVTOL developer Joby finds partner for Vertiport network expansion
Joby Aviation, a developer of electric air taxis backed by Toyota with $500 million in funding, is working on an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft under the name Joby S4. Designed for urban and regional passenger transport, the aircraft will accommodate one pilot and four passengers, offer a range of up to approximately 240 kilometres, and achieve a cruising speed of around 320 km/h. The air taxi is expected to produce significantly lower noise emissions compared to helicopters.
Pilot production of the Joby S4 is already underway in Marina, California, and the company has recently announced plans for a second production facility in Dayton, Ohio. This expansion aims to enable Joby Aviation to manufacture four air taxis per month from 2027 onwards. While final certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still pending, the first commercial operations are planned for 2026, including in Dubai.
To establish air taxis as a viable transport option, suitable take-off and landing facilities—known as vertiports—are essential. Joby has now partnered with Metropolis, the largest parking facility operator in the US, which manages over 4,200 locations and provides flight services at more than 350 sites.
The partnership aims to develop 25 vertiports across the USA, leveraging Metropolis’s extensive network of parking sites. The planned vertiports will be strategically selected within the Metropolis portfolio, focusing on markets that are particularly attractive for electric air taxis at launch.
“For air taxis to deliver on their promise of seamless urban travel, they must connect directly with the existing ground transportation ecosystem,” said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO and founder of Joby. “By leveraging existing parking infrastructure to create mobility hubs, we can deliver on our vision of seamless connectivity for our customers and also maximize the value of those sites without needing to build infrastructure from scratch.”
The companies plan to leverage Metropolis’s technology, including biometrics, computer vision, and services such as baggage handling, to accelerate Joby’s efforts to integrate its air taxi service directly into existing transport hubs.
Initially, Metropolis will offer its Bags VIP service to Joby’s new subsidiary Blade Urban Air Mobility in New York. Blade already enables affluent travellers to fly between Manhattan and JFK or Newark airports in just five minutes by helicopter, avoiding up to two hours of traffic and typical airport hassles. This flight service will now be combined with Metropolis’s VIP baggage handling. In future, air taxis are expected to be used for this service as well.
0 Comments