If you’ve ever sat in gridlock on Highway 50 and wondered if there’s a better way, Joby Aviation has an answer. The company’s mobile air taxi simulator is parked at San Jose Mineta Airport right now, offering free 30-minute sessions through August 20. The simulator replicates the experience of flying in a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, giving you a firsthand feel for a mode of transport that could one day whisk you over the congestion below.
Joby isn’t just building a single aircraft. They’re designing entire networks based on real movement data, looking at traffic patterns, congestion hot spots, and potential takeoff and landing sites. The goal is to create a system where you can skip the freeway entirely and fly from one part of the region to another. For anyone who commutes between Sacramento and the Bay Area, that’s a tantalizing thought, even if the timeline is still years out.
The simulator is free, but you need to reserve your slot online. It disappears after tomorrow, so this is a now or never kind of opportunity if you want to see what the future of urban mobility feels like. Would you trust an electric air taxi to get you to work faster? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
