Tampa International Airport unveils air taxi concept for dream project

TAMPA, Fla. - A solution to the Tampa traffic nightmare may soon take to the sky.

On Thursday morning, Tampa International Airport CEO Michael Stephens stood before the Tampa City Council to reveal a futuristic vision for the city’s transportation: air taxis. 

eVTOL aircraft could change Bay Area travel

The backstory:

Officially known as eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles), these aircraft could radically change how residents and tourists navigate the Bay Area.

"This is a vision of an eVTOL staying above the traffic, taking you from the airport to points beyond," Stephens told the council while presenting new renderings of the aircraft.

New air mobility hub planned at TPA

Dig deeper:

The ambitious project centers around the creation of a massive "air mobility hub."

Travelers would hop on the existing Sky Connect train at the airport, which would shuttle them directly to the new mobility center. 

From there, passengers could bypass the crowded interstates entirely by boarding an air taxi to take them around the city.

Multimodal transportation future

Big picture view:

"It will have eVTOL, which is going to be coming to us pretty soon," Stephens explained. 

Stephens noted that the hub would also feature "connectivity points for potentially a train or an automated people mover that goes downtown, TNCs [rideshares], bus curbs — all of those things being able to connect people."

The primary goal is simple: get people moving quicker. By taking traffic into the sky, the city hopes to alleviate the heavy congestion that currently plagues ground-level public transit.

City support for transportation concept

What they're saying:

City council members expressed strong support for the airport's vision.

"We need what you have at the airport in Tampa to make it movable," District 6 Council member Charlie Miranda said. "Buses can't move if you have 10,000 cars around them. And you guys have done it the right way for many years."

Council member Alan Clendenin, co-chair for District 1, shared a similar sentiment regarding the potential for greater connectivity.

"I'm very excited about the transportation opportunities... to ensure that we get those transit options to be able to connect people from your facility to the rest of our beautiful city," Clendenin said.

FDOT infrastructure still needed

What's next:

While the future looks remarkably bright, city officials acknowledge that this is just a dream right now. Turning this vision into a reality requires massive coordination, particularly when it comes to ground infrastructure.

"A vision that I have is that we are going to be leaning into the airport to create a multimodal facility, hopefully to be able to connect from downtown," Stephens said.

Stephens said the Florida Department of Transportation would have to create connecting infrastructure such as trains and other on-the-ground facilities.

FDOT has a viable site for a multi-modal transportation hub picked out, but that is still in the early stages with nothing specific promised.

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