Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has started the trial operation of a self-driving vehicle at the Expo 2020 site. People are being transported on a specific path from the main entrance to the site to the temporary offices of employees.
 
The move is part of the authority’s endeavours to enhance Dubai’s strategy for smart, self-driving mobility, which aims to convert 25% of the total mobility trips in Dubai into self-driving trips across various modes of transportation by 2030. The strategy also contributes to achieving integration between mass transportation, providing sustainable and secure transportation.
 
“The smart self-driving mobility strategy is one of the initiatives through which the authority seeks to support the Dubai government’s move towards a green economy,” said Ahmed Bahruzian, executive director of RTA’s Public Transport Agency. “The pilot start of the self-driving vehicle at the Expo site in Dubai is an achievement through which we aspire to enhance our experiences in the vital areas of Dubai with self-driving vehicles.”
 
He said the three-month trial operation phase included tests for technologies for self-driving transportation, ensuring that the highest levels of public safety for individuals and the protection of surrounding properties are followed. The authority wants to demonstrate its endeavours to adopt the highest levels of efficiency, reliability and safety in providing smart services and modern technologies.
 
Mohammed Issa Al Ansari, vice president of communication at Expo 2020 Dubai, added: “We feel proud that the Expo 2020 Dubai site is a place to implement the strategy of Dubai for smart self-driving through experimental operation of a self-driving vehicle inside the site. This strategy is consistent with our vision of the concept of sustainability through reducing dependence on polluting environmentally friendly transportation and making the shift to more environmentally friendly vehicles low in carbon emissions.
 
“Cooperation with the Roads & Transport Authority is an essential part of our work, along with government agencies and institutions in the country, to organise an expo befitting the UAE’s reputation as a leader in sustainability and environmental protection.”
 
Using environmentally friendly technologies, the smart self-driving vehicle from French company EasyMile is 100% electric powered for a period of up to sixteen hours. The vehicle can seat fifteen passengers, and it moves at up to 25km per hour.
 
The vehicle is designed to move in public and indoor closed streets such as residential complexes and places of entertainment, and is characterised by its safety and security standards because it monitors the path in which it is moving using sensors and high-precision systems to determine the location. This lets it monitor any obstruction or object and slow its speed automatically. It stops completely as the object approaches the vehicle.
 
The Dubai Expo is scheduled to open in October.