Dubai Advances Autonomous Taxi Services with Global Tech Partnerships

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has entered into strategic agreements with Uber Technologies, WeRide, and Baidu’s Apollo Go to introduce autonomous taxi services in the emirate. These collaborations aim to integrate self-driving vehicles into Dubai’s transportation network, aligning with the city’s goal of making 25% of all journeys autonomous by 2030.

Under the partnership, WeRide will deploy its autonomous vehicles through Uber’s platform in Dubai. WeRide, which secured the UAE’s national license for self-driving vehicles on public roads in July 2023, had previously launched its autonomous vehicles in Abu Dhabi via Uber in December 2024. Noah Zych, Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery Operations, stated that this collaboration reflects Uber’s commitment to building the future of transportation by working with leading autonomous vehicle developers to commercialize and deploy the technology globally.

Baidu’s Apollo Go has also formalized its entry into the UAE market through a Memorandum of Understanding with the RTA. The agreement outlines plans to deploy 100 autonomous taxis in Dubai by the end of 2025, with a target of expanding the fleet to at least 1,000 robotaxis by 2028. Baidu intends to use its RT6 model for these operations, a vehicle comparable in size to the Tesla Model 3, equipped with a comprehensive sensor suite including cameras and lidar. Yunpeng Wang, President of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group, emphasized the synergy between Baidu’s mission and Dubai’s vision for autonomous transportation, expressing enthusiasm for introducing safe and sustainable autonomous mobility solutions to the region.