Dubai is moving closer to fully autonomous transport as the Roads and Transport Authority unveils Phase 1 of its driverless RoboTaxi programme covering sixty-five locations across the city. The approved areas are split between two operational zones with seventeen locations in Zone One and forty-eight locations in Zone Two marking the most extensive public road mapping yet for autonomous taxis in the emirate.
These zones form the backbone of Baidu Apollo Go’s autonomous vehicle operations in Dubai following the launch of its Autonomous Vehicles Operations and Control Centre at Dubai Science Park. The facility is the company’s first such centre outside China and will manage all aspects of the RoboTaxi fleet including maintenance charging software updates and safety monitoring while enabling real time oversight as vehicles operate on public roads.
The transport authority has also issued Dubai’s first permit for fully autonomous vehicle trials without a safety driver behind the wheel. This approval is a major step toward Apollo Go’s plan to launch a fully integrated commercial autonomous ride hailing service in the first quarter of 2026. The 65 mapped locations will act as the foundation for future expansion as the company targets a fleet of more than 1,000 autonomous vehicles in Dubai in the coming years.
The project builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2025 to support large scale autonomous taxi operations. In July 2025 Baidu received the city’s first autonomous driving trial permit followed by trials of 50 RT6 autonomous vehicles on selected roads in August. These pilot tests took place on closed and open roads in areas such as Dubai Silicon Oasis and Jumeirah with commercial operations expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals and successful trial outcomes.
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