Did you know that 25 per cent of mobility journeys in Dubai will be driverless by 2030?

Dubai is one step closer to having self-driving taxis on the road. On December 14, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai went on the first test ride of Cruise autonomous electric vehicle.

The demo drive took place on Jumeirah 1.

You can watch the video here: 

In the video, we can see Sheikh Hamdan ordering his ride and it arriving to him at Jumeirah 1.

In the car, Sheikh Hamdan was joined by His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority and Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police. In the front seat, behind the wheel but not driving is a safety driver from Cruise.

The car drives around Jumeirah 1, with the passengers able to see the route on a map inside.

cruise car

Sheikh Hamdan’s car was a General Motor’s Chevrolet Bolt-based Cruise, which was part of a fleet of ‘Meznah’ vehicles.

Speaking about the testing of the driverless vehicle, Al Tayer stated. ‘The testing of Cruise AVs is a crucial step towards enhancing Dubai’s global leadership in implementing self-driving transport. It contributes to Dubai’s Strategy for Smart Self-Driving Transport aimed at converting 25 per cent of all mobility journeys in the emirate to self-driving modes by 2030.’

We’ve been talking about the launch of the autonomous vehicle since April 2021 which was when the agreement between RTA and Cruise was signed. After this, it was full speed ahead for Dubai as it began to prepare with months of digital mapping. The cars were then rolled out in October on Jumeirah 1 for testing, but with no passengers, until December 14 that is, when Sheikh Hamdan was the first to trial the driverless cars.

What’s next? Tests will continue and soon, RTA will announce a registration process allowing selected members of the public to use the Cruise ride hailing app to experience. How do we sign up?

@rta_dubai