Baidu has announced that Apollo Go, its autonomous ride-hailing platform, has become the first project to receive Dubai’s autonomous driving trial permit, as well as a batch of 50 autonomous driving test licenses issued by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai.
The permit and licenses were granted to Baidu in July, with the company subsequently having commenced a number of trials on open roads with its 50-vehicle fleet within Dubai since August.
The announcement itself was made at the 4th Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport.
Liang Zhang, Managing Director of EMEA, Baidu Apollo, said:We are honoured to bring this new dimension to Dubai's public transportation ecosystem, following our partnership with the RTA in March.
Leveraging our autonomous driving technologies and fleet operation expertise, we will conduct all required testing and operations to enable seamless localization. Together with the RTA, we aim to co-build a global benchmark for intelligent transportation and contribute to solidifying Dubai's position as a world-leading autonomous city.
The rapid commencement of the new trials follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Apollo Go and the RTA earlier this year.
Apollo Go and the RTA have stated intentions to expend the current fleet to utilise over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles by 2028.
Baidu’s platform was also the first to receive an autonomous driving test license in Hong Kong in November 2024.
