Flying taxis are set to become a feature of the Singapore cityscape in the island state, in plans revealed by Ministry of Transport Permanent Secretary Pang Kin Keong at a Business Times city leaders conference Wednesday.

Russian, Chinese and German companies are all developing vehicles to hover above Singapore streets, the Hoversurf Scorpion, Ehang 184 and the Volocopter VC200. The Ehang 184 from China is also set to hover above Dubai from July.

The trails signal a smart city trend in transportation away from car ownership towards a pay-per-use model, powered by low carbon and driverless technologies. With driverless buses also set to roll on the city streets in the near future, Singapore is setting the pace in the smart transportation market.

Asia, propelled by rapid urbanisation, is the fastest growing market in the development of the smart transportation, variously estimated to be worth between US$130 and 285 billion globally by 2025.