Dubai Robotaxi trips pass 7,600 as driverless mobility gathers pace

Dubai’s Robotaxi service has recorded more than 4 million kilometres of operations as the emirate moves closer to its driverless transport goals.

The Roads and Transport Authority said the service has completed 7,613 passenger trips since launch, with customer satisfaction reaching 97 per cent.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of Corporate Technology Support Services Sector and chair of the Autonomous Transport and Aerial Taxi Committee at RTA, said the Robotaxi fleet now includes 144 vehicles, of which 48 are active.

The service completes about 50 trips a day.

Mr Bahrozyan said the results support Dubai’s target of making 25 per cent of all transport trips autonomous by 2030.

Building a driverless network

The Robotaxi program is being rolled out in phases to test safety, reliability and readiness before wider deployment.

Defined operational zones allow the vehicles to be tested in real traffic conditions and help operators move gradually from safety-driver trials to fully driverless public transport.

The more than 4 million kilometres already travelled give RTA and its partners a large base of operating data to assess autonomous driving performance, improve passenger experience and prepare for expansion.

RTA said the data will help evaluate safety and reliability before the service is deployed more widely across Dubai in the coming months.

Global partners

RTA is working with Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide and Pony.ai to expand autonomous mobility in the emirate.

The partnerships bring autonomous driving technology and fleet operation experience to Dubai’s transport network.

They build on agreements signed between RTA and the three companies as part of the authority’s plan to introduce autonomous taxi services across the city.