Baidu’s Apollo Go ride‑hailing platform has received Dubai’s first driverless vehicle trial permit from the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

The permit allows Apollo Go to operate fully autonomous vehicles on designated public roads without a human safety driver behind the wheel, marking a step towards its goal of launching a fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in Dubai as early as the first quarter of this year.

The driverless vehicle trial permit was formally issued by the RTA during the opening of Apollo Go Park in Dubai, Baidu’s first facility of its kind outside China. Located in downtown Dubai, the 2000-square-metre Apollo Go Park is designed as a centre for autonomous vehicles, integrating intelligent road infrastructure, charging and maintenance facilities, and related technologies. It is expected to evolve into a central command hub as Apollo Go and the RTA plan to expand the fleet to more than 1000 fully driverless vehicles in Dubai.

“The opening of Apollo Go’s first operations centre outside China reflects the strong confidence of leading global companies in Dubai’s advanced regulatory environment and the readiness of its smart infrastructure to accommodate and advance autonomous vehicle technologies in line with the highest standards of safety and efficiency,” said HE Mattar Al Tayer, RTA director general. “The RTA’s issuance of Dubai’s first permit for fully driverless operational trials without a safety driver represents a qualitative milestone, translating our commitment to developing a flexible and secure legislative framework that keeps pace with rapid advancements in mobility technologies, supports innovation and fosters partnerships with leading specialised global companies in this field.”

The collaboration forms part of the RTA’s vision to expand future mobility and enhance the deployment of autonomous vehicles across taxi and ride-hailing services.

“This will contribute to improving quality of life, enhancing road safety, reducing carbon emissions, and increasing the efficiency of the emirate’s transport network,” said Al Tayer.

Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO of the public transport agency at the RTA (www.rta.ae), added: “As Dubai’s public transport network continues to grow, we see autonomous mobility as a powerful complement to our existing services. Through this trial permit and the deployment of Apollo Go’s autonomous vehicles on designated open roads, we will rigorously test safety, reliability and customer experience, ensuring that any future large-scale rollout fully meets Dubai’s standards and serves the needs of our residents and visitors.”

And Yunpeng Wang, vice president at Baidu (home.baidu.com), said: “Together with the opening of our first overseas Apollo Go Park, this marks a truly significant milestone in Apollo Go’s expansion in the UAE and our long-term commitment to the region. Building on our proven expertise worldwide, we look forward to working closely with the RTA and local partners to deliver safe, efficient and sustainable autonomous ride-hailing services, accelerating the emirate’s transition towards intelligent transportation.”

This progress is built on the cooperation agreement signed between Apollo Go and the RTA in March last year to advance autonomous driving testing and services in Dubai. In July, the RTA granted Apollo Go the emirate’s first autonomous driving trial permit and an initial batch of 50 autonomous driving test licences. Since August, Apollo Go has been conducting trials of a 50-vehicle RT6 fleet on designated public roads in Dubai.

Apollo Go’s rapid expansion into the UAE is backed by its autonomous driving technology and real-world operational expertise. Apollo Go (www.apollogo.com) has logged more than 240 million autonomous kilometres, of which over 140 million kilometres were completed in fully driverless mode. With a global footprint across 22 cities, Apollo Go’s weekly ride count has recently surpassed 250,000, and the service has completed more than 17 million cumulative rides.

• Apollo Go and AutoGo (autogo.world), a UAE-based autonomous mobility company, have officially launched a fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in Abu Dhabi. The service is available via the AutoGo app initially on Yas Island.