Road, underground and sky ahead: Dubai’s Next-Gen transport

Dubai is transforming the way its residents move – on roads, tracks, underground and in the sky. With autonomous vehicles, trackless trams, electric pods, micromobility networks, pedestrian-friendly “super blocks”, the Loop and flying taxis, the emirate is rapidly moving towards a smarter, greener and more efficient transport ecosystem.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, inaugurated the city’s first driverless taxis with a “Hands-off. Future on” ride on a fully autonomous RT6.

For now, residents will get to see such taxis operating without a driver in select areas.

“This initiative represents a preparatory phase ahead of the commercial launch scheduled for the end of Q1 of this year,” said Khaled Al Awadhi, Director of Transportation Systems at RTA’s Public Transport Agency, about the mass launch covering 65 locations by the end of next month.

Service: RT6 autonomous taxis, developed with Baidu Apollo Go

Fleet: 100 vehicles initially, scaling up to 1,000 in the coming years

Goal: 25 per cent of all trips to be driverless by 2030

Sustainability: Powered by electric or hydrogen energy.

Once rolled out, the Glydways pods would link metro stations to key destinations. The system’s autonomous electric vehicles would operate on narrow, dedicated tracks, minimising traffic impact while transporting up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Offerings:

Electric, driverless travel for first- and last-mile connectivity

Integration with the existing metro network

Flexible, scalable deployment across urban nodes to reduce congestion

Locations: Bluewaters, Umm Suqeim, Al Quoz, Dubai Festival City.

Dubai will launch autonomous trackless trams that combine rail-level efficiency with route flexibility:

Capacity: Up to 300 passengers per tram

Speed: Up to 70 km/h

Technology: GPS, LiDAR and optical cameras to follow virtual routes

Integration: Seamless connection with metro and other mass transit networks.

Dubai’s smart mobility plan also prioritises walking, cycling and soft mobility:

55 per cent of residents to live within 800 metres of a mass transit station

Cycling tracks connecting Jumeirah, Marina and Al Qudra

“Super Block” neighbourhoods in Al Karama, Al Quoz and Al Fahidi designed to be pedestrian-first

Future Loop: A 2km air-conditioned bridge near the Museum of the Future, facilitating year-round walking.

The air taxi project, led by Joby Aviation, is about 80 per cent ready for launch. The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has undergone a series of test flights to validate safety, performance and airspace integration.

Capability: Designed to carry one pilot and up to four passengers, at speeds of up to 200 mph

Vertiports: Dubai International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai form the initial route network for Dubai’s aerial taxi service

Commercial launch: Expected by the end of this year

Once launched, Joby’s air taxis are expected to offer fast, zero-emission journeys across key urban corridors, significantly reducing travel times and integrating seamlessly with Dubai’s wider smart transport network.

Imagine: The journey from Dubai International Airport to Palm Jumeirah is expected to take about 10 minutes, compared to roughly 45 minutes by car.

The Dubai Loop, an underground transport initiative developed in partnership with Elon Musk’s Boring Company, is set to become one of the city’s most iconic infrastructure projects. Spanning 24 km, the first phase covers a 6.4 km pilot route with four stations, connecting the Dubai International Financial Centre with the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa.

Time saved: Slashed from 20 minutes to just three, offering a swift alternative to surface traffic.
Pilot phase: Expected to serve 13,000 passengers daily
Full project: Accommodate up to 30,000 passengers a day.

Dubai’s transport transformation aligns with broader green and smart city objectives:

Driverless trips: 25 per cent of journeys by 2030

Integrated multimodal systems to reduce congestion and emissions.

The integrated network aims to ensure 80 per cent of daily services are reachable within 20 minutes, reshaping urban life, commuting patterns and sustainability practices. With this multimodal approach, Dubai is not just imagining the future of transport – it is building it.