UAE Accelerates Shift Towards Smart, Sustainable Mobility: Report
Muhammad Irfan
Published September 28, 2026 | 04:15 AM
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 28th Sep, 2026) The UAE continues to accelerate its transition towards a smart and sustainable transport ecosystem, as autonomous vehicle operations expand, Air Taxi infrastructure advances, and regulatory frameworks, testing facilities and simulation systems develop in parallel. This shift signifies the movement of future mobility technologies from trials to regulated use on roads and in the air.
Dubai is at the forefront of this transformation. Robotaxis have logged over 4 million kilometres since the service launched in August, completing 7,613 passenger trips. The fleet comprises 144 vehicles, with 48 actively operational, undertaking around 50 trips daily, achieving a customer satisfaction rate of 97 percent.
The operational infrastructure has also expanded with the opening of the Baidu Apollo Go Autonomous Vehicles Operations and Control Centre in Dubai. Spanning 2,000 square metres, this facility offers fleet management, maintenance and charging services, software updates, safety testing, simulation and training, showcasing the development of an integrated ecosystem around autonomous vehicles beyond road deployment.
In Abu Dhabi, autonomous mobility has progressed from operations to regulation and advanced testing. The emirate began trials of its TXAI self-driving taxi service on Yas Island in 2021, subsequently expanding autonomous vehicle services. In 2025, Abu Dhabi launched a pilot programme for autonomous delivery vehicles and announced the development of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Test Hub. This hub will leverage simulation, digital-twin technology, sensing networks, and real-time data analysis to test and validate smart mobility and autonomous driving technologies.
In July 2026, Abu Dhabi Mobility introduced dedicated licence plates for trial and commercial autonomous vehicles for the first time. The two categories, “Test” and “Auto Drive”, enable clear identification of these vehicles and facilitate field monitoring and sector management as operations expand.
Ras Al Khaimah has also established a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles following the issuance of Law No. (1) of 2026 regulating their operation. Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority (RAKTA) has developed the RAKTA Autonomous Vehicle Sandbox and a simulation environment to test vehicles and assess safety before progressing to operational trials and future deployment.
In advanced air mobility, Dubai has progressed from announcing its Air Taxi project to testing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and developing a network of dedicated vertiports. The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Skyports Infrastructure announced that VDX, the world’s first purpose-built commercial vertiport, received regulatory certification for eVTOL aircraft operations.