Dubai Times All About Dubai
Already home to the world’s tallest skyscraper in the world, Dubai is aiming at another tall order to fulfil by 2030. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai wants a quarter of all vehicle traffic in Dubai to be comprised of self-driving vehicles by 2030
“By 2030, 25 percent of all transportation trips in Dubai will be smart and driverless. The strategy is projected to generate economic revenues and savings of up to AED 22 billion a year,” Shaikh Mohammad said on his official Twitter account.
“Dubai is leading cities of the world and making a qualitative paradigm shift to harness artificial intelligence in the service of the humanity and set a world unparalleled model for future cities, and is evolving into a global laboratory for technology and R&D,” he added. “Today, we lay down a clear strategy with specific goals for smart transportation to form one of the key drivers for achieving sustainable economy in the UAE.”
Dubai has over 1.5 million registered vehicles, and it’s not unusual to see Ferraris alongside Lamborghinis at Dubai’s traffic lights. the city is also home to a driverless Metro rail system, which carried approximately 178 million passengers in 2015.
Smart-car technology is being used in some of the world’s luxury vehicles, and it is advancing rapidly enough for the plan to become a reality in the UAE’s commercial capital.
Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council took a 10-seater driverless vehicle for its maiden trail run at the UITP MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition 2016.
In a statement isssued by state-run WAM news agency, Shaikh Mohammed said the plan would cut down on costs as well as traffic accidents. The project would be a joint venture by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the Dubai Future Foundation.
“Today, we lay down a clear strategy with specific goals for smart transportation to form one of the key drivers for achieving sustainable economy in the UAE,” said Shaikh Mohammed.
Dubai boasts the world’s tallest building with the 2,717-foot ( 828-meter ) Burj Khalifa, which opened in 2010. In 2020, it will host the World Expo, a world’s fair that is held every five years.
Mattar al-Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority, said his agency has contacted a number of driverless vehicle sellers and “plans to conduct live test-runs for these vehicles in Dubai.”
RTA has already has signed a deal with Toulouse, France-based driverless vehicle manufacturer EasyMile to conduct tests on their box-shaped EZ10, which carries up to 10 passengers.
While still a nascent field, many big names are looking at entering the driverless market. Google began developing driverless cars in 2010. Traditional automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Toyota are working to gradually automate functions until vehicles potentially become fully capable of driving themselves.
Dubai may prove to be a good test site. It sees little rainfall and has a nearly new road system crowned by the E11 highway known as Sheikh Zayed Road, the country’s longest thoroughfare that is a dozen lanes at its widest.
Google said in a statement that it has seen a lot of interest for self-driving cars and has talked to organizations and communities all over the world, without specifically addressing questions about Dubai.
The goal of 2030 is a “realistic timeline” for such an effort like Dubai’s, said Jeremy Carlson, a senior analyst in autonomous driving at research firm IHS. “By and large, technology is not going to be the bottleneck for bringing this to market,” Carlson said.
