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Dubai's driverless taxi service to start operating in March: Sheikh Hamdan
Three companies, pony.ai, Uber, and Baidu's Apollo Go, are set to run a fleet of 100 driverless taxis, as part of partnerships with Dubai's RTA
- PUBLISHED: Thu 5 Feb 2026, 8:50 PM UPDATED: Fri 6 Feb 2026, 3:34 PM
- By:
- Yasmin Hussein
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The long-awaited autonomous taxi service in Dubai will start operating in March, as per directions of the emirate's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.
"This is only the beginning of our journey to the future. The best is yet to come for Dubai," the royal said on Thursday, February 5, adding that 100 fully autonomous vehicles will join the self-driving fleet.
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In a gesture that embodies his trust in Dubai's abilities to take the leap towards autonomous mobility while applying strict safety measures, Sheikh Hamdan rode in a driverless vehicle on Thursday to take him to the venue of World Governments Summit 2026 at Dubai's Madinet Jumeirah.
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Sheikh Hamdan, who also serves as the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, shared a video of the ride and captioned the post by saying: "Hands off. Future On. #SelfDrivingCar." The Dubai royal rode in one of Baidu's Apollo Go self-driving vehicles.
"The future of mobility in Dubai will be smarter, safer, more efficient, and more inclusive. We are turning vision into reality, building sustainable transport that improves quality of life for everyone," Sheikh Hamdan added.
Three companies, pony.ai, Uber, and Baidu's Apollo Go, are set to operate a fleet of 100 driverless taxis, as part of partnerships with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
According to Apollo Go, this will be the first time its self-driving service has operated outside China, and the company plans to grow its fleet to more than 1,000 vehicles in the coming years.
Yasmin Hussein is an Assistant Digital Editor who believes that every news story carries a human element. Her motto is 'get it first, but first get it right'.
