In a significant move for Dubai’s autonomous mobility ambitions, Baidu and Uber have announced a partnership with the city’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to bring the Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service to the emirate. The service is scheduled to launch next month, marking a new phase in the global collaboration between the two tech giants.
A Major Step for Dubai’s 2030 Vision
The initial launch will introduce fully autonomous vehicles to select areas of Jumeirah, with plans for expansion across the city based on operational performance and regulatory approvals. This initiative directly supports Dubai’s ambitious goal of making 25% of all transportation trips autonomous by the year 2030, positioning the city as a global leader in future mobility solutions. The on-the-ground fleet operations will be managed by a third-party operator, New Horizon.
Seamless Integration into the Uber App
Passengers within the designated service areas will be able to experience the new technology through the existing Uber app. Users can book a standard Uber Comfort or UberX ride and may be matched with an Apollo Go vehicle, or they can directly choose the “Autonomous” option within the app for a guaranteed driverless experience.
“Bringing Apollo Go to Dubai via the Uber platform marks a pivotal step in our mission to provide safe, efficient, and accessible autonomous mobility worldwide,” said Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of the Overseas Business Unit, Intelligent Driving Group. “This deployment officially brings our autonomous ride-hailing service to Dubai, utilising Uber’s network to turn our shared vision into reality.”
Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous at Uber, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the company’s role in scaling new technologies. “Just as we helped millions of people try out EVs for the first time, we will expand consumer access to autonomous technology in major cities around the world,” he stated. “With more than 20 AV partners already completing millions of autonomous trips annually, Uber is the global platform where the autonomous vehicle industry can launch at scale.”
This launch follows the January opening of Apollo Go Park in Dubai, the company’s first operations and management hub outside of China.
About Baidu Apollo Go
Apollo Go is the autonomous ride-hailing service developed by Chinese technology giant Baidu. It is built on the Apollo open-source autonomous driving platform, which aims to provide an open, reliable, and secure software platform for its partners to create their own autonomous driving systems. The service has been deployed in several cities across China and is now expanding its international presence.
Source: fintechnews.ae
