Good news for Dubai residents: You may soon be able to travel in driverless cars at several key areas in the city, including at metro stations, malls and tourist spots in the emirate.
This follows the successful trial runs of driverless cars in the emirate. Khaleej Times readers will remember that the first and second phase of the trials were undertaken in Dubai World Trade Centre and Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said in a statement today that it is now undertaking the third phase of trial run, at Business Bay over a 650 meter-long track in collaboration with Dubai Properties.
Each driverless car deployed by the RTA is capable of lifting 10 persons at a time.
“The trial run of the smart vehicle in the Business Bay is the third-time experience following the successful first test run carried out in Dubai World Trade Center, and the second trial in Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard in coordination with Emaar,” said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA’s Licensing Agency and Chairman of Smart Vehicles Committee.
Bahrozyan noted that the RTA is also working on “drafting rules and legislations towards the implementation of the smart mobility strategy of the emirate and setting out well-defined legal structures covering the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh key aspects of the policy of using autonomous vehicles in the first and last mile stage, business centers, residential complexes and parks.”
Dubai is testing the driverless cars to check their feasibility in the emirate’s climatic conditions as well as educate residents and visitors about the technology.
The move is also aimed to “sensitize the people about Dubai Government’s strategy for smart vehicles aimed at converting 25 per cent of total mobility journeys in Dubai to various types of driverless transit means by 2030,” explained Bahrozyan. More info
By Web report  www.khaleejtimes.com
