Dubai is looking to have 25% of its road trips autonomous by 2030 as part of city’s plan to become a sustainable economic hub and the smartest city in the world. The announcement was made by Dubai’s Vice President and UAE Prime Minister, Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Monday through a tweet.
The city is already running a 10-seator autonomous vehicle on a pre-set route as a trial, initiated at MENA Congress UITP, last Monday.
According to the Prime Minister, the driverless vehicles would contribute towards Dubai’s economy by saving around $60 billion. They would save travel time, leading to reduction in road accidents and other transport losses.
Dubai Future Foundation and the Roads Transport Authority Dubai will join hands to see the project through. The city is already home to an automatic Metro rail system that transported 178 million people last year. A large number of taxi companies are already running in the city, so the addition of driverless vehicles will put a question mark on the future of the drivers.