Dubai to roll out more driverless taxis as global operators join the ride: RTA

Dubai: A fresh fleet of self-driving taxis from more operators will make its Dubai debut next year, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Wednesday.

Pilot testing will commence later this year, with a safety driver seated behind the wheel, in preparation for the driverless commercial launch in 2026, said Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.

This was revealed when RTA expanded its global partnerships with top autonomous driving technology providers Uber, WeRide, and Baidu through its autonomous mobility arm, Apollo Go.

Al Tayer explained, “These two partnerships with Uber, starting with WeRide as the technology partner and Baidu (Apollo Go) represent a crucial step in advancing Dubai’s Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to transform 25 per cent of all journeys in the city into autonomous trips across various transport modes by 2030.”

The move aligns with the First and Last-Mile Strategy adopted by RTA last year, which aims to facilitate passenger movement between their origin or destination and the nearest public transport station, said Al Tayer.

This landmark initiative also marks Baidu’s debut in Dubai, following Nasdaq-listed Chinese self-driving automotive company WeRide’s robotaxis launch in Abu Dhabi in 2021. Both companies have chosen Dubai as the international hub for expanding their autonomous operations beyond their home markets.

Another operator – Autogo - has also started trials for its robotaxi services in Abu Dhabi, with operations likely to begin next year. In April 2021, RTA and Cruise, majority owned by General Motors (GM), announced that Dubai would be the first international market for Chevrolet Bolt-based Cruise vehicles. Demo rides of the AV were held in the Jumeirah 1 area in 2023.

Dr Wang Yunpeng, Baidu Corporate Vice President, President of Baidu Intelligent Driving Group, said, “This ambitious partnership with RTA represents Apollo Go’s biggest international expansion beyond China thus far.”

To date, Apollo Go has recorded over 150 million kilometres of safe autonomous driving, supporting the large-scale deployment of autonomous ride-hailing services across more than 10 Chinese cities. Since this February, Apollo Go has commenced fully driverless operations across China and has completed more than 10 million autonomous rides lately, making it the world’s largest operator of driverless fleets. Its sixth-generation robotaxi RT6, purpose-built for autonomous ride-hailing, has been widely welcomed and well-received by passengers.

Meanwhile, Noah Zych, Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery Operations, said, “At Uber, we’re building the future of transportation, working with the world’s leading autonomous vehicle developers to help commercialize and deploy this technology at scale worldwide.”

The Dubai launch also represents the second city in the region where WeRide and Uber collaborate to bring autonomous mobility solutions to the public. The first one is Abu Dhabi. WeRide operates in over 30 cities across 10 countries, and it holds driverless permits in China, the UAE, Singapore, France, and the US.

Jennifer Li, Chief Financial Officer and Head of International Business at WeRide said, “Dubai marks a natural step forward in our commitment to advancing mobility in the Middle East as well as our continued global expansion.”

The RTA chief also said that autonomous vehicles (AVs) contribute to improved road safety, as human error is responsible for over 90 per cent of traffic accidents. Moreover, they serve a wide segment of the community—particularly senior citizens, residents, and people of determination.”