Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced plans to begin a trial of 50 driverless taxis in the coming months. This initiative is a significant step towards the official rollout of an autonomous taxi service expected in 2026.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between RTA and Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go. As part of this agreement, Apollo Go will deploy its sixth generation RT6 model, which includes 40 sensors and detectors designed to meet high standards of automation and safety.

The trial will start with 50 vehicles, with plans to gradually expand the fleet to 1 000 autonomous taxis over the next three years. This marks Apollo Go’s first international expansion beyond China and Hong Kong, where the company has already logged over 150 million kilometers of safe driving. Additionally, Apollo Go has conducted more than 10 million autonomous trips and is progressing towards fully driverless operations.

Mattar Al Tayer, the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at RTA, emphasized their commitment to enhancing Dubai’s global leadership in autonomous mobility. He stated that the authority aims to trial various autonomous vehicles, including air taxis and marine transport, to achieve the goals of Dubai’s Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy. This strategy targets converting 25 percent of all trips in Dubai into autonomous journeys across different transportation modes by 2030.