One startup in France, SeaBubbles, is trying to bring their flying water taxi to market, that is intended to become a riverboat taxi service, but their efforts are being heavily stunted by a web of French bureaucracy.

The taxi boat that they've designed is based off a design that broke a world record for speed sailing back in 2009 and the designer, Alain Thebault, wants to see that boat being used everyday on the water as a taxi service. The startup they've created, SeaBubble, is expected to raise tens of millions of euros by this fall but there is plenty of red tape in the way before they can accomplish the goal of seeing their boats service the market.

One of their main hurdles will be trying to navigate around the strict speed limits that have been set for water areas in France like the River Seine. The company might possibly be looking to get authorities there to raise the limit so that it can accommodate their design but for right now the company fears that the bureaucracy might take its toll and prevent them from exploring the idea in that region. They've admitted that if things get too complicated that they will be looking to go elsewhere and try starting up the taxi operation in a region that is more welcoming to the idea.

It took SeaBubbles almost 1 month just to register their company, a task which could've been completed within a few hours in other countries.

When it comes to getting a business launched and off the ground, the average wait is around 20 days but it's a lot shorter in many areas. New Zealand for example, is credited as the country where it is currently the fasted processing time and it's only 24 hours there on average to legally start a new business. Compare that to the average in the US which is said to be around 5 or 6 days, for Australia it's 3 days, and then on the other side of the spectrum you have areas like Venezuela where there is an astounding 144 days wait on average (roughly 5 months).

The water taxi that they've designed is a battery-powered taxi and it is able to reach up to 18 mph. The boat is lifted above the water with the use of a hydrofoil and the creators behind the idea say that they imagine their taxi service operating something like Uber. Eventually, it might be just as easy to hail a water taxi, with the use of a smartphone and app, in the same way that it is to order an Uber today.

If they aren't able to make things work in France then it might not be long before they go looking elsewhere. Company executives have admitted that there are about 5 other cities around the world which have already signaled their interest to explore the use of this water taxi as a part of their transportation systems.

Demonstrations with Seabubble's water taxi and the public in France are expected to take place in September.

banner thanks to @son-of-satire

Pics:
Reuters
Seabubbles via thelocal.fr/20170615/video-flying-water-taxis-tested-on-river-seine-in-paris

Sources:




http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/indyventure/water-taxi-startup-france-bureaucracy-stop-growth-alain-thebault-seabubbles-emmanuel-macron-a7909966.html http://www.businessinsider.com/seabubbles-is-a-flying-water-taxi-that-surfs-above-the-water-2017-8 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/start-ups-10-fastest-countries-to-launch-a-business-around-the-world-a6754446.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-tech-idUSKCN1B40BO https://www.thelocal.fr/20170615/video-flying-water-taxis-tested-on-river-seine-in-paris

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