California-based electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation has partnered with Metropolis Technologies to establish a network of takeoff and landing sites for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft across the United States.
The partnership aims to develop up to 25 vertiports by repurposing selected locations within Metropolis’s portfolio of parking facilities. Metropolis operates more than 4,200 parking sites nationwide and provides aviation-related services at over 350 locations, positioning it as a potential platform for integrating air taxi operations with existing ground transport infrastructure.
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Joby is developing the Joby S4, an all-electric eVTOL aircraft designed for short-range urban and regional travel. The aircraft is intended to carry one pilot and four passengers, with a projected range of up to 240 kilometres and cruising speeds of around 320 km/h. The company says the aircraft is significantly quieter than conventional helicopters.
Backed by Toyota, which has committed $500 million in funding, Joby has begun pilot production of the S4 at its facility in Marina, California. The company has also announced plans to open a second manufacturing site in Dayton, Ohio, with the goal of producing up to four aircraft per month from 2027. Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration is still pending, though Joby has said it is targeting initial commercial operations in 2026, including services in Dubai.
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“For air taxis to deliver on their promise of seamless urban travel, they must connect directly with the existing ground transportation ecosystem,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and chief executive of Joby Aviation. He said leveraging existing parking infrastructure could reduce the need to build new facilities while accelerating deployment.
As part of the collaboration, the companies plan to use Metropolis’s technology, including computer vision, biometric access systems and ancillary services such as baggage handling, to integrate air taxi operations into multimodal transport hubs.
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In an initial step, Metropolis will provide its Bags VIP baggage-handling service to Blade Urban Air Mobility, a Joby subsidiary, in New York. Blade currently offers helicopter transfers between Manhattan and major airports, including JFK and Newark, and Joby has said it expects electric air taxis to be introduced on similar routes once certified.