China’s WeRide has received a nationwide license from the United Arab Emirates to drive its robotaxis and other vehicles on its roadways. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
According to the business, “This is the first national-level autonomous driving license in the Middle East and possibly the entire world.”
WeRide will test several autonomous driving vehicles on UAE roads with the use of this license.
The UAE’s prime minister and leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, tweeted about the action.
WeRide sells a self-driving bus, van, and street sweeper in addition to a robotaxi.
According to SAE International, the license enables the business to test its ‘Level 4’ autonomous vehicles, which are ones that can drive themselves without the need for human intervention.
The UAE introduced self-driving technology earlier than other nations. By 2030, Sheik Mohammed wants a quarter of the automobiles in Dubai to be self-driving.
Some jurisdictions, including Florida and Georgia, have laws permitting ‘Level 4’ and ‘Level 5’ autonomous vehicles, which don’t need any human input at all.
Although the UAE continues to have high goals for self-driving cars, it is believed that this is the first license that covers the entire country.
Driverless Taxis To Hit Dubai In October 2023
Following the successful digital mapping of the Jumeirah 1 region, fully automatic self-driving taxis will operate on Dubai’s streets starting from October 2023, a top official from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced.
A total of five driverless taxis will be used along the 8 km stretch of Jumeirah Road between the Etihad Museum and Dubai Water Canal, according to Khaled Al Awadhi, RTA director of Transportation Systems, Public Transport Agency at RTA, who was speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Third Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport.
During the experimental phase, the autonomous taxi—operated by General Motors (GM) subsidiary Cruise, a US-based provider of self-driving technology—will not yet accept any human passengers. However, a small number of people will be able to use Cruise taxis by the end of the year, with full commercial operations beginning in the second half of 2024.
By 2023, all driverless taxis and e-hail services will be fully operational, making Dubai the first city outside of the US to use Cruise self-driving cars for commercial purposes.
Al Awadhi pointed out that the pricing for the self-driving taxis has not yet been determined by RTA, but he suggested it will be comparable to limo taxis, which are typically 30% more expensive than conventional cabs in Dubai.