The future of mobility may be in the skies, if the public can get behind it.

Erik Chalhoub here. Recently, some have mentioned to me they’ve seen a Joby Aviation aircraft in the wild, flying above Santa Cruz or around the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Santa Cruz-based company, which manufactures its air taxis at the Marina Municipal Airport, is gearing up for commercial service in 2026. It’ll be able to do that ahead of its full certification from the Federal Aviation Administration in 10 states, as it was part of multiple applications approved by the federal government to participate in a pilot program. (Just not in California yet—the FAA rejected an application by a group from the Central Coast.)

Despite this, we can expect to see more electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in our skies in the very near future, primarily from Joby and Archer Aviation. But what does the general public think about this, and how do these companies build trust with local communities?

That was the subject of a discussion during the LIFT Summit yesterday, April 1 at the Monterey Conference Center.

Hosted by Monterey Bay DART, the growing conference brings together those working in advanced air mobility, government leaders and others to discuss the burgeoning industry.

The conference began Tuesday, March 31 with a tour and demonstration from various manufacturers. It concluded today, April 2, after two full days of conversations.

During the panel I attended, the speakers agreed that educating the general public, as well as local governments, on what advanced air mobility actually is will be key to the industry’s success.

Tim Haile, executive director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, said it is critical for manufacturers to invite the public to see their aircraft and have the chance to ask questions.

“That’s when it becomes real, when people can actually touch and feel and see it,” he said.

Darlene Yaplee, president and co-founder of the Aviation-Impacted Communities Alliance, said the public needs to be included in the decision-making process, because ultimately, it is local jurisdictions that are going to decide if they want to allow a vertiport—where such aircraft take off and land—to be built in their community.

“The risk of failure is huge if they say no,” she said. “That means, you’re not landing in their city.”

But who will use the air taxi service, or rather, how many will have the financial means to do so, remains an unanswered question that will undoubtedly shape the future of the industry.

“When we’re starting out, we’re going to try to be on the Uber Black kind of pricing, probably on the higher end of that,” Karen Coronel, who handles state and local government affairs at Joby, said, referring to the luxury tier of the ridesharing service. “That’s the reality of this situation. But as we grow and scale, that price ideally will come down and be a lot more affordable.”

It sounds like a case of the chicken or the egg is facing the industry—to lower prices, more users are needed. But it may be difficult to get more users without lowering costs first.