A new video details a plan that is designed to make autonomous transit happen by 2030

If politely making small talk with taxi drivers is one of your greatest fears, well, a solution is on the way.

Driverless cabs are set to arrive on Dubai roads in the near future, and not only do they sound super convenient, they’re also environmentally friendly.

The RTA has released a video detailing what has been dubbed Dubai’s ‘Smart Self-Driving Vision’, an initiative that reaffirms HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai’s, plan to make 25 per cent of Dubai’s transport network smart and driverless by 2030.

The video notes that the RTA has developed a self-driving strategy that will allow commuters to book multi-destination trips via their mobile phones.

This is designed to decrease overall costs while increasing road safety and falling in line with Dubai’s driverless metro system.

Dubai is also set to host the first worldwide self-driving competition, although there are no specific details given in the video as to when this is set to take place.

In July 2016 we reported that app-based booking service Careem has teamed up with NEXT Future Transportation to launch the battery-powered electric pods in the Middle East, and hope they should help solve congestion and pollution woes.

The pods, which look a little like something straight out of The Jetsons, can drive individually or attach themselves together to create a bus-like structure, so passengers can move between pods.

They’ll pick up passengers on demand, and deliver them door to door using the most efficient route possible.

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NEXT founder and chief executive Emmanuele Spera described the pod system as the “world’s finest autonomous mass transit solution”.

The electric pods can seat six passengers (or 10 if standing), so it sounds like there’ll definitely be options to pod-pool, if needed.

Careem and NEXT say their pods will be a much safer way to travel, but there’s no word yet on exactly we should expect them to launch.

Fingers crossed it’s soon, because this sounds like the perfect solution to the daily commute…

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Images: Supplied