Flying taxis may be years away, but the groundwork is gaining pace

San Francisco

FLYING cars are just starting to inch their way out of science fiction. But that is not stopping some companies from planning for flying taxi services.

A growing collection of tech companies, aircraft manufacturers, auto-makers and investors are betting that fleets of battery-powered aircraft will give rise to air taxi services, perhaps as soon as the next decade. Some of those taxis, the companies hope, may even use artificial intelligence to fly themselves.