The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has initiated trials of driverless taxis in the Jumeirah 1 area.
These self-driving taxis are now in the testing phase, which means they do not transport passengers and a safety driver stays behind the wheel. The RTA sees this experiment as a key step towards developing the Middle East and North Africa’s first viable autonomous transportation system, cementing Dubai’s leadership in autonomous technology.
The idea is the product of a collaboration between the RTA and Cruise, a General Motors-affiliated self-driving technology business. While passengers are not currently authorised, a limited number of people are scheduled to be able to utilise Cruise taxis by the end of the year, with full commercial operations set to begin in the second half of 2024.
While the pricing for these Cruise taxis have yet to be finalised, they are likely to be equivalent to limo taxis, which normally cost 30% more than regular cabs in Dubai. As part of its Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy, the RTA intends to launch additional autonomous taxis in the Jumeirah region next year and hopes to deploy roughly 4,000 driverless cabs across Dubai by 2030.
By 2030, this initiative aims to transform a quarter of all mobility travels in the city to smart and autonomous journeys. Cruise’s vehicles are Chevrolet Bolts, which are all-electric and emission-free subcompact hatchbacks outfitted with LiDAR, cameras, and radars to identify objects and people on the road.
