Dubai is truly driving into the future
Driverless taxis in Dubai. It’s an ongoing topic that keeps progressing as time passes by, as there are a number of factors to be considered before they take to the street. The latest information, and possibly the most exciting, answers the question, ‘When will driverless taxis be on the roads in Dubai?’.
And that time is just around the corner, as Dubai has announced that self-driving taxis will launch for passengers in 2026.
The roadmap to get there
The latest news from RTA on self-driving taxis came in April 2025 with the announcement of the transport authority signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Apollo Go to bring autonomous taxis to the emirate.
Apollo Go is Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, a global leader in autonomous transport solutions. The Apollo Go company provides self-driving taxis across China, specifically in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and more. Under the terms of the MoU, Apollo Go and RTA will initiate a trial of 100 autonomous taxis in 2025, and will start hosting passengers for fully driverless rides in 2026.
Currently, there are testing and trial phases that are being conducted with a safety driver behind the wheel, just to ensure everything is safe and sound for its future passengers. The digital mapping of the roads began way back in 2022, and once this is sorted, pilot operations will be launched in up to 65 zones across Dubai. During the initial phase, there will still be a safety driver on board to take over in case they have to.
When everything is ready and in place, riders will be able to book these driverless cars on the Uber app.
*11 transportation systems coming to the UAE*
But, why go driverless?
Self-driving vehicles are expected to significantly improve road safety levels, as over 90% of accidents are due to human errors.
The vehicles are all-electric, environmentally friendly, and capable of serving a wide range of clients from different community segments, including seniors and people of determination.
Driverless taxis are also part of Dubai’s Strategy for Smart Self-Driving Transport which aims to convert 25% of all mobility journeys in the emirate to self-driving modes by 2030.
About the state-of-the-art driverless vehicles
The vehicles will be equipped with 80 sensors, cameras, and LiDAR systems – laser scanning technology, which will monitor road conditions and controls to avoid collision with objects (even those the human eye cannot see).
‘Human errors are responsible for more than 90% of accidents. The Autonomous vehicles are environmentally friendly electric vehicles, and can serve considerable numbers of customers, particularly senior citizens and residents, in addition to people of determination,’ commented His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
Images: Dubai Media Office
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