Uber Launches Driverless Robotaxi Service in Abu Dhabi, and Plans Many More (techcrunch.com) 15
"A year after launching a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company WeRide and partner Uber can finally call that service driverless," reports TechCrunch.
A company official hailed it as "a historic transportation milestone, as the first driverless AV deployment outside of the U.S. or China." But TechCrunch notes that's just the beginning: Uber has spent the past two years locking up partnerships with 20 autonomous vehicle technology companies in various countries, including the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Those partnerships have expanded beyond the realm of robotaxis as well. Uber's deals span the full range of self-driving applications, including delivery and trucking. This year alone, it announced partnerships withAnn Arbor, Michigan-basedMay MobilityandVolkswagen, Chinese self-driving firms Momenta,Pony.ai, and Baidu, as well as a recent deal to create a premium robotaxi service using Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with a self-driving system from San Francisco-based startup Nuro.
These deals are finally beginning to materialize into commercial services. For instance, Uber and Waymo launched a robotaxi service earlier this year in Austin. Now, Uber has expanded to the Middle East with WeRide in Abu Dhabi — with even more cities to come, including Dubai. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi forecast in the company's third-quarter earnings report that there would be autonomous vehicle deployments on the Uber network in at least 10 cities by the end of 2026. Uber and WeRide have previously shared plans to expand to 15 cities throughout the Middle East and Europe, eventually scaling to thousands of robotaxis. That would represent a massive leap for WeRide, which today has more than 150 robotaxis in the region.
A company official hailed it as "a historic transportation milestone, as the first driverless AV deployment outside of the U.S. or China." But TechCrunch notes that's just the beginning: Uber has spent the past two years locking up partnerships with 20 autonomous vehicle technology companies in various countries, including the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Those partnerships have expanded beyond the realm of robotaxis as well. Uber's deals span the full range of self-driving applications, including delivery and trucking. This year alone, it announced partnerships withAnn Arbor, Michigan-basedMay MobilityandVolkswagen, Chinese self-driving firms Momenta,Pony.ai, and Baidu, as well as a recent deal to create a premium robotaxi service using Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with a self-driving system from San Francisco-based startup Nuro.
These deals are finally beginning to materialize into commercial services. For instance, Uber and Waymo launched a robotaxi service earlier this year in Austin. Now, Uber has expanded to the Middle East with WeRide in Abu Dhabi — with even more cities to come, including Dubai. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi forecast in the company's third-quarter earnings report that there would be autonomous vehicle deployments on the Uber network in at least 10 cities by the end of 2026. Uber and WeRide have previously shared plans to expand to 15 cities throughout the Middle East and Europe, eventually scaling to thousands of robotaxis. That would represent a massive leap for WeRide, which today has more than 150 robotaxis in the region.
Bring it to Australia... (Score:3)
If riding in one of these driverless cars would cost less than riding in a conventional taxi or Uber, I would definitely use them for the rare occasions when public transport won't work.
they can kill / injure people and just pay off the (Score:2)
they can kill / injure people and just pay off the victim with no big court cases to get in the way.
Re: (Score:2)
Flat? Have you looked at the topography of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq? These are rugged places, with IEDs to boot.
Drives the speed limit? (Score:1)
Do most (human) drivers respect the speed limit in Abu Dhabi? I assume Uber has to make sure the driverless robotaxi's follow all road laws, including the speed limit, which on many North American roads would place the robotaxi 10, even 20 km/hr slower than the other cars on the road.
Re: Drives the speed limit? (Score:2)
The problem is drunk and other impaired drivers. We could have nationwide highway speed limit of 75 but we know there'd be more accidents. In contrast a robot car should be allowed to travel at the maximum safe speed given the situation. I don't want to ride down the road at exactly 35 MPH at midnight when nobody is around.
Re: (Score:1)
Yes, a good point. When all vehicles are computer controlled and can communicate with each other, the maximum speeds could change moment by moment based on the traffic, road conditions, and weather - once the laws are changed. Until then, I assume if a robotaxi operates on public roads, they have to follow the current laws and speed limits.
Re: (Score:2)
While drunk driving happens in Dubai, as a Muslim nation they have exactly zero humor about it.
I figure the rate of bad driving from other things like just being an absurdly entitled citizen or part of the royalty is more common.
I've actually been in Dubai, deployed there once. Visited the city a few times. It's "interesting".
Why a fleet of black cars? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Medieval dictatorship improves its public services (Score:1)