Dubai's RTA reviews commercial operation of autonomous vehicles
RTA has partnered with Cruise to roll out 4,000 driverless cars by 2030 in Dubai
Dubai: A delegation from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has recently conducted a visit to San Francisco, USA to meet with senior leadership from Cruise and review the company’s progress on the development and commercial operation of autonomous vehicles.
RTA said on Thursday the “visit is part of its efforts to chart out an integrated future roadmap for self-driving transport in support of the Dubai Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to convert 25 per cent of all trips in Dubai driverless by 2030.”
Cruise and RTA are partnering to offer Dubai’s first autonomous taxi trips, with plans to have up to 4,000 vehicles in the region by 2030.
“Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM), shares RTA’s vision that autonomous vehicles will contribute to safer, cleaner transportation in cities. Cruise has recently completed mapping of the Jumeirah region,” RTA noted.
The RTA’s delegation was comprised of Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency; Khaled Al Awadhi, director of Transportation Systems; and Ismail Zohdy, RTA expert in self-driving transport. They were briefed on the regulatory practices in the US for autonomous vehicles.
Cruise is the only autonomous vehicle company that has obtained all the necessary permits in California to operate a fared driverless autonomous taxi service to the public in a major
US city.
Cruise currently operates a fleet of Chevy Bolt vehicles, one of which was showcased in Dubai at GITEX 2022 last month.
Driverless service
The visiting RTA officials held a formal meeting with Cruise senior leadership in San Francisco. They also experienced the Cruise driverless service and took a number of rides around the city.
They also held a series of meetings and workshops with Cruise technical teams, and visited
visited GoMentum Station in Concord, California, which is one of the largest autonomous vehicle test sites in the US.
The RTA delegation was also briefed on the latest US regulations for autonomous vehicles on public roads.