A "flying taxi" along the Seine river is being tested as a greener transport alternative to help solve the French capital's traffic problems.

The vehicle is powered by electricity and lifts out of the water on "wings." 

"You have batteries in the bubble, two electric engines, wings in the water, and with the speed, the wings, they lift the boat, you reduce the drag, you have 30 or 40 percent less drag," said Alain Thebault, co-founder of Seabubbles, which made the taxi. 

As one of the densest urban transport networks in the world, Paris plans to gradually tighten regulations, with all petrol and diesel cars to be banned from the city center by 2030.

"The interest of this experiment is for the city of Paris, for the services of the state, for France in a way since we are now looking ahead to the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be a wonderful showcase for our country and for Paris," said Magali Charbonneau, secretary general of the prefecture of the Ile-de-France region.

If the trials are successful, the vehicles could be used for a taxi service as soon as early as 2020.