RTA Autonomous Taxi Expansion in Dubai

Dubai joins dozens of cities worldwide with operational or piloting public autonomous taxi services as of early 2026. This signals a giant leap towards a truly autonomous future. The city's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is taking active steps towards autonomy to support the city's Self-Driving Transport Strategy. Dubai is targeting at least 25% of trips to be autonomous by 2030. 

In fact, as we speak, the RTA launched a public robotaxi pilot in December 2025 via the Uber app in partnership with WeRide and Uber. The pilot program is initially starting in Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah, with a safety driver on board. The service transitioned from testing phases starting in April 2025, aiming for fully driverless operations in early 2026. 

So you can book a robotaxi in Dubai right now through the Uber app. Just select Autonomous in Umm Suqeim or Jumeirah, and a WeRide autonomous car comes to pick you up, at present currently with a safety driver. But in the next three months, precisely by March 2026, these cars will operate on Sheikh Zayed Road fully driverless. By the first quarter of 2026, the safety driver was no longer required. This underlines that Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority are not testing autonomous taxis anymore, but they are deploying them in real time.

Dubai Autonomous Zone (DAZ) Rollout Plan

Zone	Areas	Density	Complexity	Timeline
Zone 0	Dubai Silicon Oasis	Low	Controlled	Active testing
Zone 1	Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim	Medium	Moderate	Dec 2025 launch
Zone 2	Downtown, Business Bay, Sheikh Zayed Road	High	Complex	March 2026
Zone 3	Nad Al Hammar, Nad Al Shebah	Medium	Moderate	Mid-2026
Zone 4	Deira, Old Souq, dense residential	Very High	Very Complex	Late 2026

Top Three Players: Race Ahead

It's not American or European, but three Chinese companies are racing ahead in deploying autonomous taxis in Dubai: WeRide through Uber, Baidu's Apollo Go, and Pony.ai. Don't be surprised that it is not Tesla, Waymo or Cruise. It is now quite clear that Chinese companies have taken the lead in transforming the UAE Auto Market in these fast-emerging technological areas. A perfect example of this is WeRide dominating Dubai's autonomous taxi market before it even fully launches. 

The Chinese firm, WeRide, has partnered with Uber in taking the lead to deploy the first one. And they have been running cars in Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah since December 2025. Anyone now can book through the Uber app by selecting “autonomous” options, and just like a normal car, a WeRide robotaxi arrives. Currently a safety driver monitors systems, but this will not be the case by March. 

Another Chinese brand, Baidu's Apollo Go, is operating 150 autonomous vehicles across the Middle East, including 100+ robotaxis. What brings confidence in their ability to be safe is that they have successfully completed 10 million autonomous rides in China. Apollo Go deployed their sixth-generation RT6 robotaxi, purpose-built for autonomous ride-hailing without a steering wheel and pedals.

Pony.ai joined hands with RTA in July 2025 and is undertaking trials now. Their seventh-generation robotaxis use advanced AI algorithms with lidars, radars, and cameras. They have partnered with OEMs like Toyota, GAC Motor, and BAIC Motor, with the aim to start full commercial operation by the middle of 2026. 

Interestingly, all three companies tested in Dubai Silicon Oasis—Zone 0. Once they pass controlled testing, they move to Zone 1 (current Jumeirah operations), then Zone 2 (Sheikh Zayed Road by March), and eventually Zones 3 and 4, covering all of Dubai. This is incredible, and we are not far from a truly autonomous driving reality. 

The 2030 Goal

RTA's Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy plans for 25% of all Dubai trips to be autonomous by 2030. That certainly is ambitious, but if anyone can do it, then it definitely is Dubai. At present, zero per cent of trips are fully autonomous, and touching that to 25% in five years needs deploying thousands of robotaxis quickly.

RTA projects 4,000 driverless taxis by 2030, and Dubai currently has roughly 10,000 traditional taxis. Giving a boost to 4,000 autonomous vehicles would represent 40% of total taxi fleet capacity, which is huge. 

Now it is not just the technological angle but also the economic argument that supports aggressive expansion. According to the RTA, AED 22 billion in annual savings by 2030: AED 900 million in transportation costs, AED 1.5 billion in reduced pollution, and AED 18 billion from increased efficiency. Those are government figures. However, their actual materialising hinges on real deployment success.

How It Feels to Ride One

Looking at the experiences of early riders, it seems quite positive. To be precise, the car vehicles drive cautiously, very cautiously. They stop for pedestrians well before they need to, slow down more than human drivers would for turns, and occasionally hesitate at complex intersections.

This makes perfect sense, as autonomous vehicles have a clear focus on safety over speed. But it frustrates riders expecting a normal taxi pace. A trip that takes 12 minutes with a human driver might take 16 minutes in a robotaxi, which is a 33% time increase that matters for people with tight schedules.

In the actuals, the car is quite comfortable, as much as one would expect. Clean and fresh interior like the traditional cars, climate and screens showing route and vehicle status. But here is a thing: you cannot ask the car to take a different route if traffic appears ahead. You are actually driven by the algorithm's decision.

And here's what nobody mentions: you still pay similar fares to regular Uber rides. Currently, customers do not benefit from the cost savings that result from eliminating drivers. Companies are recovering massive R&D costs; maybe prices will drop once operations scale, or they may not. Only time will tell. 

The Sheikh Zayed Road Challenge

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be expanding to Sheikh Zayed Road by March 2026. The Zone 1 areas have relatively calm roads with lower speeds, while Sheikh Zayed Road is Dubai's main highway with six lanes in each direction, speeds reaching 120 km/h, and complex merging patterns. And so that is a real deal to crack.

Autonomous vehicles need to tackle:

• High-speed lane changes among aggressive drivers
• Merging from slip roads during peak traffic
• Construction zones with lane shifts
• Heavy vehicles creating blind spots
• Sandstorms reducing visibility to 50 meters

However, with their experience, Chinese companies claim their technology handles these conditions. Apollo Go points to 150 million kilometres of autonomous driving in China, while WeRide operates in multiple international cities. Pony.ai was tested in California and China.

Yet, we can’t ignore how Dubai's driving culture differs. Lane discipline is not the best; drivers change lanes without signalling. Luxury sports cars weave through traffic at 160 km/h. The autonomous systems must react to unpredictable human behaviour while maintaining safety.

Right now RTA is aiming to bring autonomous taxis only to the city of Dubai. But if operating them between requires federal law. If you want to take a robotaxi from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, you simply cannot right now. The service stops at emirate borders.

WeRide and Apollo Go operate in Abu Dhabi separately. But there's no integrated cross-emirate service. A true autonomous taxi network requires federal regulation allowing seamless operation across all seven emirates. That framework doesn't exist yet. Also, personal autonomous vehicles face bigger hurdles. You can't buy a self-driving car and use it on UAE roads. Regulations only permit commercial robotaxis and autonomous limos, not private autonomous vehicles. Residents wanting personal self-driving cars must wait for federal law changes that could take years.

Conclusion

So what is clear is that the RTA is taking steps to introduce autonomous taxis in Dubai and gradually make the technology robust enough to expand to larger areas. This is a wonderful chance to show the world that Dubai can take a lead in this new technology in making autonomous driving a reality. Right now anyone can order an autonomous taxi at Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah via the Uber app with WeRide vehicles in December 2025. It will go fully driverless by the next quarter and then eventually expand to the whole city by 2023. This is a serious ambition, and if everything goes well, we will see it happening in real life and automation even in the Police Patrol cars.