Extended driverless ride at Business Bay
dubai — The autonomous vehicle deployed at the Business Bay area will be around for three more weeks to give you a driverless ride around the area.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Dubai Properties, has announced the extension of the trial run of the autonomous vehicle by another month. It will be on till February 22.
“The decision has been taken in response to the encouraging number of users of the vehicle, which is 1,500 persons (in one month). The 10-seater vehicle has been deployed to shuttle over a 600 metre-long track in the Business Bay following the successes of the initial two phases of the trial operation at the Dubai World Trade Center and the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard,” the RTA said in a Press release.
Khaled Al Awadi, Director of Automatic Fare Collection System at RTA’s Corporate Technology Support Services Sector, said: “The trial run of the driverless vehicle in the Business Bay marks the third phase of the trial operation following the successful debut at the World Trade Center and the second trial at the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard in coordination with Emaar.
“The strategic plan of the RTA envisages the testing of autonomous vehicles under Dubai climate conditions. The trial run is also intended to give the public a feel of the smart vehicles technology, test the operation under Dubai climate conditions, and showcase the Autonomous Mobility Strategy of the Dubai Government aimed at transforming 25 per cent of total mobility journeys in Dubai to driverless journeys on public transport means by 2030. The experience seeks to screen the views of the public about the driverless mobility experience through a questionnaire; which will also gauge their satisfaction rating.”