Dubai will soon be the first city other than the United States, to operate driverless vehicles, the Emirate’s Crown Prince said.
The first series of self-driving vehicles will be ready by 2023, and this will go up to 4000 by 2030.
This came as Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, met the former US Ambassador and Chief Legal Officer of Cruise, Jeff Bleich, and signed a deal with Dubai’s RTA.
Later, taking to Twitter, the Crown Prince said the partnership will make Dubai the first city outside the USA to operate self-driving cruise vehicles.
This is in fulfilment of the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, making Dubai the best city to live and work.
"Our goal is to convert 25 per cent of the total transportation in Dubai into self-driving trips through various means of transportation by 2030,” said Sheikh Hamdan.
The Crown Prince said that doing so would be beneficial to both economy and would make Dubai more environment-friendly. This Dubai’s vision for future also aims to reduce transportation cost by Dh.900 million annually, while Dh.1.5bn is expected to be saved by reducing environmental pollution by 12 percent annually.
This initiative also intends to obtain Dh.18billion by way of economic revenue annually, increasing the efficiency of the transport sector by 2030.
Cruise will be the exclusive provider of driverless cabs, and the ride-hailing services in Dubai until 2029. As per the deal, a new Dubai-based company will be formed, and will be made completely responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the fleet.
These autonomous cars by Cruise generate zero emission, eliminates human error with zero car crashes with no hassle for parking, and no congestion.
