Self-driving taxis coming to Dubai in 2026
Living in the future…
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has joined forces with Uber and WeRide to bring a new level of public transport to Dubai. This strategic partnership will launch autonomous vehicles in Dubai through the Uber platform as self-driving taxis.
The partnership will work with China’s Baidu, through its autonomous mobility arm, Apollo Go. Apollo Go is one of the world’s foremost providers of self-driving solutions and autonomous ride hailing services. This initiative assists RTA’s wider strategy to establish Dubai as a global pioneer in autonomous transport and support its vision to become the smartest city in the world.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said: The partnerships with Uber and WeRide on one hand and Baidu (Apollo Go) on the other represent a crucial step in advancing Dubai’s Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to transform 25% of all journeys in the city into autonomous trips across various transport modes by 2030. These collaborations highlight RTA’s commitment to engaging with global technology leaders and forms part of a series of autonomous mobility trials launched in 2016, which have grown in diversity over the past years.”
The self-driving taxis will launch in 2026, however trials will commence in Dubai this year, and will have a safety driver seated behind the wheel.
The rollout of self-driving vehicles will mark an incredible shift in Dubai’s transport landscape and further strengthen RTA’s efforts to ease traffic in the city and help smoother mobility for public transport users.
Noah Zych, Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery Operations, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority to bring autonomous vehicles onto the Uber platform, starting with our technology partner WeRide. 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 around the world.”
