Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said it will start the trials and preparations of digital maps needed for deploying its autonomous vehicles by year-end. 

 

RTA had inked a partnership agreement with Cruise Company to operate Cruise autonomous vehicles to offer taxi and e-Hail services in Dubai. 

 

Dubai will be the first city outside USA to operate such vehicles, stated Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of Board of Executive Directors of RTA, during a meeting with a delegation of the American Cruise Company headed by Anthony Gregory, VP of Market Development, Cruise, US. 

 

The meeting discussed the latest developments relating to the agreement signed between the two parties for operating Cruise autonomous vehicles in providing taxi and e-Hail services. 

 

The topics covered included the supply of vehicles, operations, the latest developments of operating autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and the production of Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle, as Dubai will be the global platform for launching the operation of this vehicle.

 

"This initiative enhances Dubai’s pioneering role in self-driving transport. It is an important step towards realising Dubai Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy aimed to transform 25 percent of total mobility journeys in Dubai into journeys on various self-driving transport modes by 2030," Al Tayer said.

 

"Dubai will be the first global platform for launching Cruise Origin Cars. It is a vehicle dedicated to shared driverless transport. In 2023, a limited number of Cruise autonomous vehicles will be deployed with a plan to increase the number of deployed vehicles gradually to reach 4000 vehicles by 2030," he added.

 

To ensure the operation of the service next year, the RTA held a broad kick-off meeting that brought together the delegation of Cruise with officials from the Dubai Police General HQ, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.-TradeArabia News Service