Hosted by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the third Dubai World Congress was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Dubai World Trade Centre under the slogan ‘Empowering the Future of Mobility’.
The event saw the participation of over 2,000 international participants, 53 speakers including top executives, researchers, experts, and developers of autonomous mobility technology.
The Dubai World Congress also showcased over 40 exhibitors representing leading entities, displaying cutting-edge technologies in smart and sustainable mobility.
Talking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event, the Director of Transportation Systems at the RTA Khaled Al Awadhi told that the fully-automated self-driving taxis will ply the streets of Dubai next month.
Khaled Al Awadhi told that a total of five driverless taxis will be deployed along the 8 kilometers stretch of Jumeirah Road between Etihad Museum and Dubai Water Canal in the first week of October 2023.
We present to you groundbreaking projects and works showcased at the exhibition held alongside the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport, from the most cutting-edge technologies to extraordinary innovations. pic.twitter.com/Obk2qyYkeH
— sdc_dubai (@SdcDubai) September 27, 2023
The autonomous taxi — operated by US-based self-driving technology company Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM) — will take no human passengers yet during the trial phase. But select individuals will be able to take Cruise taxis by end of this year, before its full commercial operations by second half of 2024.
The complete operation of driverless taxi and e-hail services will make Dubai the first city in the world to commercially operate Cruise self-driving vehicles outside the US.