Dubai Taxi launches driverless rides after RTA rollout

Dubai: Dubai Taxi Company announced Wednesday the launch of fully driverless commercial ride-hailing services — a day after the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirmed the rollout of autonomous taxis in parts of the city.

On March 31, RTA announced the launch of commercial autonomous taxi operations in Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah, in partnership with Apollo Go and WeRide.

The first phase includes 100 autonomous taxis integrated into Dubai’s transport network, with bookings available via Uber and the Apollo Go app.

Following this, Dubai Taxi Company, in partnership with Baidu Inc. through its Apollo Go platform, has launched driverless commercial ride-hailing taxi services in Dubai via the Apollo Go app, Dubai Taxi explained.

This marks the platform’s first international app deployment.The rollout will begin with 50 vehicles in the first year, Dubai Taxi said.

There are plans to expand the fleet to more than 1,000 driverless vehicles over the coming years.

Residents and visitors can book driverless rides through the Apollo Go app, available on both the Play Store and App Store. Bookings will also be extended to Bolt and other e-hailing providers as the rollout scales up.

The launch aligns with Dubai’s Self-Driving Transport strategy, which aims to convert 25 per cent of all transportation trips into smart, driverless journeys by 2030.

Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi, Group CEO, DTC, assured that “the successful trials conducted over the past few months have demonstrated the vehicles’ readiness, particularly in terms of safety, reliability, and operational efficiency, reinforcing our confidence in scaling this initiative.”

Dubai Taxi Company operates a fleet of over 6,000 taxis and limousines and brings more than three decades of experience. The company said it will use advanced monitoring systems and data-driven operations to ensure safe and reliable journeys.

The launch follows a milestone in January 2026, when Apollo Go received Dubai’s first-ever driverless testing permit for fully autonomous vehicles without a safety driver. In the same month, Baidu also inaugurated Apollo Go Park in Dubai, its first overseas operations hub.

Dubai is a key hub in Apollo Go’s global network. As of February 2026, the platform has completed over 20 million rides worldwide, with weekly rides exceeding 300,000 during Q4 2025.

Its fleet has covered more than 300 million autonomous kilometres, including over 190 million kilometres of fully driverless operations.