Ride-sharing services have become an important transportation option in many parts of the world. Autonomous cars are coming soon, the experts tell us. But what about rides on the water? Aside from ferries and sightseeing cruises for tourists, we have largely ignored the possibilities for human transportation on the rivers, lakes and bays that touch our cities.
Ferries are useful, but they are like buses: they have fixed routes and schedules. Also, ferries require a lot of passengers, use a lot of fuel, and create pollution, much as buses do. What if you could hail a small water taxi with an app on your phone? What if it were solar-powered, did not make noise, did not pollute, and largely moved on top of the water, creating very little impact on the aquatic environment?
Seabubbles is ready to open up the waterways again. While its water taxi looks like a concept vehicle from some futuristic show, the Seabubble is real. This company has been testing its prototype since last year and its boats are in production right now. The first production Seabubble water taxis will be tried out this summer in Paris, France. New York, London, San Francisco, and Geneva are other candidate cities where these water taxis could have a huge impact, saving people time, money, energy, and pollution.
Welcome to the future. It’s almost here.
Additional References:
Seabubbles site: http://www.seabubbles.fr
Telegraph article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/27/paris-to-trial-flying-river-taxis-in-the-seine-next-year/
Bloomberg article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-11/flying-river-taxis-eye-customers-from-the-seine-to-san-francisco