Driverless Taxi Service to Start in Dubai by 2023

In its latest announcement on Tuesday, Dubai’s Roads and Trasport Authority (RTA) publicized plans to start a driverless taxi service by 2023. 

RTA said trials of the service were expected to start by the end of the year before an official launch in 2023.  

As such, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked by global consultancy KPMG among the top countries globally regarding readiness to accommodate driverless vehicles.   

Few details about the car can help customers know more about vehicles, which are autonomous and electric, environmentally friendly, and can serve considerable numbers of customers, particularly senior citizens, residents, and people of determination.  

Autonomous vehicles also boost road traffic safety levels as human errors are responsible for more than 90 percent of road accidents. In addition, cruise’s autonomous cars produce zero emissions, work on eliminating human driver error with zero car crashes, and no trouble for parking.  

“Human errors are responsible for more than 90 percent of accidents,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General of the RTA.  

“Autonomous vehicles are environmentally-friendly electric vehicles and can serve considerable numbers of customers, particularly senior citizens, residents, and people of determination,” he added.  

Like any other technology, customers will use a mobile app to request a ride, similar to ride-sharing apps Uber and Careem. However, the only difference is that customers will control the experience via their customized climate control and radio station settings, which will be sent to the vehicle ahead of when they access their ride.  

It gets more enjoyable when you go inside the vehicle, where passengers will find touch screen tablets to access real-time status information about the ride. The tablets have a role in reminding passengers to close all doors and fasten their seat belts.  

Furthermore, passengers will be able to communicate with remote support personnel with the press of a button while ending the ride by pressing a button when they want it.  

The cons related to the matter is that it only operates at night and in certain areas. For now, the service remains free until further notice concerning specific changes in the future.  

It is worth mentioning that Abu Dhabi recently initiated its first driverless service trial on Yas Island, focusing on increasing passenger operations in different areas around Abu Dhabi.