A zone for self-driving vehicles in Dubai will offer a glimpse into the future as the city aims to make a quarter of all daily trips autonomous by 2030.
From 2026, a 15-square-kilometre testing zone for self-driving taxis, deliveries and other service vehicles will be established in Festival City and Dubai Creek Harbour to evaluate how autonomous transport will work on a larger scale.
The announcement was made on the opening day of the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport.
Five international companies entered bids to operate transport within the zone, and the chance to win a $3 million prize.
“From next year onwards, we will start introducing about six or seven different autonomous systems in that zone and all will be integrated with each other,” said Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive of the RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
"We want to challenge ourselves, and our partners, to say 'wherever I want to go within that zone, I should be able to go using an autonomous service in Dubai'.
“This is really what the Dubai autonomous self-driving strategy is all about.”
How will it work?
Passengers will begin their journey on the Metro system, arriving in the designated zone before hailing an autonomous taxi, shuttle bus or hopping on to an autonomous abra. The area will be connected to six other zones with similar autonomous capabilities.
Comparable pilot projects for autonomous vehicles have taken place around the world, including in China, the US and Singapore.
Meanwhile, WeRide has announced plans to expand its smart fleet of autonomous taxis into Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands.
Speaking on a panel at the event, Dr Hua Zhong, senior vice president of engineering at WeRide, said the company’s robotic fleet was ready to be used in Dubai.
“Dubai is a very busy city, but the traffic is just like other huge cities in China or the United States,” he said. “Also, the temperature here is really hot, so we have already been doing safety tests and operations in 11 countries, and more than 30 cities. We think our technology can handle the unique challenges here.”
Driverless taxis could become a familiar sight on the busy roads of Dubai, following months of extensive safety testing.
Under a partnership between Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and Chinese firm Baidu, 1,000 autonomous vehicles will be introduced gradually until 2028.
A trial of 50 of the black and green branded Apollo Go cars has been taking place for months, collecting data and conducting safety tests.
Winning public trust in the safety of autonomous vehicles is a key aspect of bridging the gap from hype to the reality of bringing driverless taxis into the everyday transport network, said Ammar Albreiki, chief operations officer of Dubai Taxi Corporation.
“The latest AV vehicles have a 360-degree awareness, from the outside and inside of the vehicle, which translates into fewer accidents and will bring more reliability,” said Mr Albreiki during a panel on steering the future of Dubai’s autonomous taxi project.
“Instead of relying on corrective maintenance, this means all this data that we're receiving from the sensors will provide more predictive maintenance and a better customer experience.
“A public-private partnership is very important to make this work. As we progress, we're building more trust. We want to be a benchmark in Dubai and make it a scalable fleet which is part of the people's ecosystem, a system that connects with different modes of transport, connects with the Metro and connects with the last mile.”
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GAC GS8 Specs
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Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Price: From Dh149,900
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Elvis
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.
The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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The specs
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ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
