Watch: Dubai's Crown Prince rides self-driving taxi

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, went on the first demo ride of the Cruise autonomous vehicle (AV) in Jumeirah 1 area.

The ongoing testing and validation of the vehicle is an important step towards launching a self-driving ridehail service in Dubai.

In April 2021, it was announced that Dubai will be the first international market for the Chevrolet Bolt-based Cruise, which is majority owned by General Motors (GM).

During the test ride on Thursday, Sheikh Hamdan was accompanied by Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police.

Cruise will continue to conduct demo rides for key stakeholders in the Jumeirah area, while the RTA will soon announce a registration process allowing selected members of the public to use the Cruise ride hailing app.

The testing of Cruise AVs contributes to Dubai's Strategy for Smart Self-Driving Transport aimed at converting 25 per cent of all mobility journeys in the emirate to self-driving modes by 2030.

.@HamdanMohammed goes on first test ride of Cruise autonomous electric vehicle in Jumeirah 1. https://t.co/mpklWjzM95 #Dubai pic.twitter.com/8FF0IoG4nE

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 14, 2023

Project update

In April 2023, Cruise started digital mapping preparations for its self-driving vehicles in an area of Jumeirah 1 under the guidance of safety drivers.

This process involved the use of HD mapping technology of the surrounding environment, with mapping vehicles, fitted with an array of sensors, lidars, cameras and ranging devices.

In October, Cruise began limited testing with five AVs accompanied by safety drivers behind the wheel. After the demo ride in December, attended by Sheikh Hamdan, Cruise will continue to conduct test rides for key stakeholders.

This testing and validation of the autonomous vehicle is an important step towards launching a self-driving ridehail service in #Dubai. In April 2021 RTA and Cruise, which is majority owned by leading global automotive company General Motors (GM), announced that Dubai will be the… pic.twitter.com/eyhebJ8nSk

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 14, 2023

خصائص مركبة بولت ذاتية القيادة
Bolt Autonomous Vehicle Features pic.twitter.com/48rgQTFRZp

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 14, 2023