Gitex Global: Driverless Dubai taxis will be cheaper than limousine services
The autonomous Cruise cabs will be operational next year
Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai on Monday said the new driverless taxi that will be operational in the emirate by the end of next year will be priced more economical than any other limousine service.
The announcement came on the sidelines of the Gitex Global show in Dubai.
RTA, which has tied up with Cruise to build UAE’s first driverless taxi on the Chevrolet Bolt electric platform, will be commercially in service by ending 2023. “Currently it is in the testing phase,” said Khalid Al Awadhi, director of Transportation Systems, Public Transport Authority, RTA.
“We have recently completed an initial phase of preparing digital maps of Jumeirah area for the Cruise’s self-driving vehicles,” added Awadhi.
“By 2023 Dubai will commercially operate the Cruise self-driving vehicles. Prices for the driverless taxi will be more economical than the limousine services in Dubai. By 2030, there will be 4,000 vehicles in service,” he added.
Awadhi said the autonomous vehicle is currently used in Cruise’s commercial fleet of self-driving vehicles in San Francisco.
Metro in metaverse
The RTA also showcased the latest technology in the metaverse, using ‘digital twins’ to demonstrate Dubai Metro’s rail network. The digital twin platform combines historical maintenance data from the past 12 years of Dubai Metro service with real-time data collected by external data-collection devices to reveal minute details and other critical situations that affect asset life-cycles.
Mousa Al Raeisy, Technology Strategy and Governance Director for RTA said that using historical and real-time data, this platform offers recommendations for improving the asset life cycle, such as changing periodic maintenance schedules and other approved procedures, as well as machine learning and system development to predict possible failures in the future.
Also at Gitex, the Dubai Taxi Corporation exhibited the new generation of taxi operation systems. The system uses artificial intelligence technologies to streamline taxi shifts by scheduling taxi allocation to drivers on a demand basis. The driver can move directly to the site for receiving the vehicle using smart keys to operate the vehicle. Through cameras fitted on taxis, the system can verify the identity of the driver.