The partners have signed a strategic collaboration agreement at Joby’s manufacturing facility in Marina, California. The agreement is to form a regular consultative team to boost cooperation in introducing air taxis in South Korea and to create “Mobility-as-a-Service” (MaaS), which connects cars, connected car platforms, and business-to-customer services.
The air taxi service will use the SKT’s T Map Mobility platform (a subscription-based MaaS consisting of rental cars, parking, ride-hailing, and other transport services) and the UT ride-hailing service, which was created with T Map and Uber last year.
SKT and Joby are currently seeking certification from the South Korean government and do not have a plan for when and where they will launch the air taxi service.
The partnership is set to accelerate South Korea’s long-term plan to commercialise UAM services by 2025, in an effort to overcome urban traffic congestion by using unmanned drone taxis.
The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and transport’s Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) roadmap plans to begin with one or two routes in Seoul, and ramp up to 10 air taxi terminals by 2030.
“With more than 42 million people living in urban areas, South Korea offers a remarkable opportunity for Joby to make air travel a part of daily life, helping people to save time while reducing their carbon footprint”, said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby.
“Close cooperation with top global players is essential to becoming a leader in future industries, which is driven by UAM, self-driving vehicles and robots,” said SKT CEO Ryu Young-sang.
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