WATCH: Flying Taxi Zooms Across River Seine
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PARIS (CBSMiami) -- SeaBubbles, a flying taxi that operates in water, zoomed across the River Seine in Paris on Wednesday, ahead of the VivaTech conference, which brings together tech CEOs and startups from around the world.
French yachtsman Alain Thebault wants to turn a boat design he used to break a world speed sailing record in 2009 into a clean, fast taxi service for the waterways of major cities.
He calls the proposed service SeaBubbles and its flying taxis 'Bubbles'.
According to the website, the vehicle is 100% electric and autonomous during its rides and is charging while people are getting in and out.
When it reaches 7.5 mph, the Bubble starts flying above the water.
It's designed to use a mobile application like Uber to call the taxi.
"Sea Bubbles" hopes to sell its first models at the Vivatech Conference in Paris on Thursday.
The co-founder says it could revolutionize travel on the waterways of major cities and put an end to traffic jams.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has spearheaded the closing off of a riverside road in favor of pedestrians, supported Seabubbles, taking a trip on it last June.
Emmanuel Macron, France's pro-business president who wants to create a "startup nation", even championed the idea when he was finance minister.