ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Leaders in St. Petersburg plan to take the next step on Monday toward possibly bringing a futuristic mode of transportation to the city.
The backstory:
Electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, or EVTOLs, have been a big talker for St. Pete’s Advanced Air Mobility Task Force the past few months.
The vehicles look like a mix of a plane or helicopter and a drone, and eventually will be autonomous.
The chair of the task force, Ed Montanari, presented the first of two progress reports on the city’s ongoing effort earlier this month.
On Monday, the task force will meet with manufacturers to hear what they would need to make the city’s air taxi dream a reality. They’ll also get a look at mock-ups of what the vehicles would look like.
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Dig deeper:
Another looming question is the exact flight path EVTOLs would take. They would operate out of Albert Whitted Airport and could fly to St. Pete-Clearwater Airport or Tampa International Airport.
Manufacturers are already working in major markets like Los Angeles, New York and Dubai to establish the same type of infrastructure city leaders hope to build in St. Pete.
What’s next:
Monday’s Advanced Air Mobility Task Force is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
The task force will present its second progress report in November, and members are scheduled to give city leaders a final layout of air mobility in January 2026.
The Source: This story was written with information from the City of St. Petersburg and previous FOX 13 News reports.