Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile-de-France region and Catherine Guillouard, CEO of RATP on board VoloCity.

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MEIGNEUX ROMUALD / SIPA

  • VoloCity, from the German manufacturer Volocopter, was chosen to carry out the first experiments in Île-de-France.

  • The machine can carry two people including a pilot and fly at 110 km / h.

  • The goal: to deploy demonstrators during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. 

The reference is in many mouths.

"We are in the

Fifth Element

 ", launches the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse.

This Wednesday, a crowd of journalists rushed to see the "future" with their own eyes.

Or at least imagine it.

35 kilometers from Paris, the aerodrome of Pontoise-Cormeilles-en-Vexin (Val-d'Oise) will host, from June 2021, tests in real situation of a flying taxi.

Objective: to deploy a demonstrator for the 2024 Olympic Games, the “showcase of Ile-de-France for the whole world”, adds Valérie Pécresse, in this place which was not chosen at random.

With @iledefrance and @RATPgroup, @GroupeADP supports @volocopter in the development of # eVTOL, a 100% electric vehicle with vertical take-off.

One more step to reinvent # aviation with the desire to create an ecological offer of # urban air mobility.

pic.twitter.com/MptmWuZ8wD

- Edward Arkwright (@ArkwrightEdward) September 30, 2020

“The innovation is not a first on this site.

And today, we are going to look to other horizons, ”explains Edward Arkwright, Executive Director General of Groupe ADP, partner with RATP and the project region.

That is to say, the launch and development of the “vertical take-off electric vehicles” sector.

But concretely, what are we talking about?

"We can imagine moving above the roads"

The propellers of the VoloCity machine are turning in the terminal.

Inside the aircraft, Valérie Pécresse and Catherine Guillouard, CEO of RATP, took their seats.

They won't take off.

Many tests, research and procedures are still to be expected before traveling with this flying taxi.

VoloCity, from the German manufacturer Volocopter, was chosen to carry out the first experiments in Ile-de-France for the insertion of these devices in a peri-urban environment and an aeronautical environment.

Our partnership with @JAL_Official_jp is going to make #UrbanAirMobility a reality in Japan in the next years!

We are #excited.

How about you? #Japan #JAL #urbanairmobility #VoloCity #VoloDrone pic.twitter.com/bHaXathivL

- Volocopter (@volocopter) September 29, 2020

Fully electric, the immaculate white device is equipped with 18 motors and nine batteries.

It can carry two people including a pilot.

It flies at 110 km / h, at an altitude of 400 to 500 meters and with a range of 35 km.

The device is in the process of being certified by the European Security Agency (EASA).

And no price is currently on the table.

“We must project ourselves into a universe that takes into account the preservation of the planet and the environment but also of the quality of life of residents of airports who suffer from noise.

This is why this project is interesting.

Interesting also because we have congestion problems on our roads, ”she explains.

And to specify: "One can imagine to move other than by the road perhaps above the roads".

"It will never replace an RER"

The emergence of this new mode of transport is “complementary” to existing modes, whether they are people or goods, the region is assured.

"It will never replace an RER, it's complementary," insists Catherine Guillouard.

"The moment when you take a ticket via the Internet to get in there is more towards 2030. But it is tomorrow", explained Catherine Guillouard.

Ultimately, "we will be able to integrate mini take-off and landing zones into the urban fabric, which also requires acceptability and the issue of noise will be fundamental," she explains.

The Fifth Element

is science fiction but ultimately not that far away," says the president of RATP.

But safety, she recalls, is rule number one.

In order to federate in the long term in Ile-de-France an ecosystem of large groups, SMEs, start-ups, laboratories and universities, a call for international expressions of interest is launched, with the support of the Choose Paris Region agency, in charge of the attractiveness and international promotion of the Ile-de-France region.

Applications are open from this Thursday until November 13, 2020, via the site www.reinventairmobility.fr.

Successful projects will be announced on December 18, 2020.

Paris

Paris: Flying taxis for the 2024 Olympics?

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  • Future (s)

  • Public transport

  • Taxi

  • Valerie Pécresse

  • Innovation

  • Paris