Four official fleet counts
Each counts something different, so they don't add up.
Driverless taxis · Metro · Dubai Loop · flying taxis
Dubai Autonomy
What runs today and what opens next
Driverless taxis already carry riders in Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim, and the Metro has run without drivers since 2009. Next come the Loop tunnels, the Blue Line and the first flying taxis.
2009Dubai Metro has run without drivers since Sep 2009. RTA calls it the world's longest driverless metro.
2026Dubai's first paid driverless taxi service began on 30 March.
1 in 4Dubai's goal for driverless trips by 2030.
Meet the vehicles
Tap one for its pageRide today
Dubai MetroRed and Green LinesOn board: No driver
Dubai MetroRed and Green LinesOn board: No driverRide today
Apollo Go RT6Driverless taxi, JumeirahOn board: No driver
Apollo Go RT6Driverless taxi, JumeirahOn board: No driverRide today
WeRide GXRDriverless taxi on UberOn board: No driver
Being builtWeRide GXRDriverless taxi on UberOn board: No driver
Tesla Model YDubai Loop tunnelsOn board: Driver at firstBeing built
Joby S4Flying taxiOn board: Pilot
Joby S4Flying taxiOn board: PilotBeing built
WeRide RobobusPilot in Ras Al KhaimahOn board: Safety officer
WeRide RobobusPilot in Ras Al KhaimahOn board: Safety officerWhat runs and what comes next
Today, being built, planned
Dubai first, then Abu Dhabi. Each line says where it runs; items with their own page open it.
Ride today
You can book or ride it now.
Dubai Metro (Red Line, Green Line, Route 2020)Driverless since 2009. 294.7 million rides in 2025.DubaiWeRideGXR vans on Uber in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with no one on board.Abu Dhabi · Dubai · Ras Al KhaimahApollo Go (Baidu)RT6 cars with no one on board in Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim.Dubai · Abu DhabiUber autonomous rides in the UAEPick Autonomous in the Uber app to ride WeRide or Apollo Go.Abu Dhabi · DubaiDubai Taxi Company (DTC)Runs Apollo Go in Dubai and aims for 1,000+ driverless cars by 2030.DubaiShow 2 more
AutoGo (K2)Apollo Go RT6 cars on fixed stops across Yas Island.Abu DhabiTXAIAbu Dhabi's first driverless taxi pilot, on Yas Island since 2021.Abu DhabiBeing built or tested
Under construction, or tested on real roads and skies.
Dubai Loop6.4 km of Tesla tunnels from DIFC to Dubai Mall. Contract signed Feb 2026.Dubai
Dubai Metro Blue Line30 km and 14 stations, with a 1.3 km bridge over the Creek. Due 9 Sep 2029.DubaiJoby air taxi service, DubaiFlying taxis from 4 sites. The DXB vertiport is built and certified.Dubai
Pony.aiDriverless trials in Dubai since April 2026. Paid rides are planned.Dubai
Dubai Mobility LabsRTA's test ground at Dubai Silicon Oasis, open since Sep 2026.DubaiShow 5 more
Driverless buses and shuttles in the UAEWeRide Robobus pilot on Al Marjan Island, RAK, with a safety officer.Dubai · Abu Dhabi · Ras Al Khaimah · Sharjah
Archer Midnight air taxi, Abu DhabiMidnight flying taxi, with vertiports under way in Abu Dhabi.Abu DhabiTesla FSD (Supervised) in the UAEFSD (Supervised) on test in Abu Dhabi since Feb 2026, not yet for owners.Abu Dhabi · Dubai
Driverless delivery in the UAE (robots, robovans, trucks)Delivery robots and vans on pilot in Dubai Silicon Oasis and Masdar City.Dubai · Abu Dhabi
Driverless boats in the UAE (abra, water taxi, patrol boat)Self-driving abra trials on Dubai Creek began in 2023.Dubai · Abu DhabiPlanned
Approved or announced, with no service yet.
Dubai Metro Gold Line42 km and 18 stations, all underground. Due 9 Sep 2032.DubaiDubai Autonomous Transport Zone (Al Jaddaf, Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai Festival City)Al Jaddaf, Creek Harbour and Festival City as one driverless zone, on land and water.Dubai
Abu Dhabi Tram Line 4 (airport, Yas Island, Al Raha)A tram from Zayed International to Yas Island, 19 km in phase 1.Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi underground tunnels study with The Boring CompanyStudy deal with The Boring Company, signed 8 Oct 2026.Abu DhabiDubai trackless tram studyA driverless trackless tram, under study for 8 places.DubaiEarlier trials and plans
Volocopter test flight, Dubai (2017)First pilotless air taxi flight in Dubai, Sep 2017.
EHang passenger drones in the UAEEH216-S passenger demo flights in Abu Dhabi, May 2024.
Aridge (XPeng AeroHT) flying cars, UAEXPeng's flying car unit. Test deal with Abu Dhabi, Nov 2025.
Rules, regulators and other emirates
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), DubaiDubai's transport authority. It licenses cars and opens zones.
Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility)Abu Dhabi's regulator. First driverless permits in Nov 2025.
UAE rules for self-driving vehicles and air taxisEach emirate's rules, plus a federal law approved Sep 2026.
Ras Al Khaimah autonomy programmeAV law in Jan 2026. WeRide pilots on Al Marjan Island.
Sharjah autonomy trialsA shuttle pilot in 2020 and uSky's test centre near University City.
Map
Where it runs
Green is where you can ride today. Metro lines keep their own colours. Dashed lines are being built, dotted lines are plans. Tap anything for details.
The map loads as you scroll to it.
Dubai driverless taxi zones are drawn at district level because no operator publishes street edges. Metro tracks are from OpenStreetMap. The Loop and Blue Line lines are our traces of official maps, so treat them as close, not exact. Base map: OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles, OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Being built · Dubai Loop
Tesla cars in tunnels under DIFC and Downtown
RTA signed The Boring Company in Feb 2026. Phase 1 runs 6.4 km with 4 stations, from Burj Khalifa to DIFC. The full plan has 19 stations.
6.4 kmphase 1, 4 stations
100electric cars in phase 1
13,000riders a day, phase 1
3 minDIFC to Dubai Mall, from about 20
2028expected opening (press report)
The map loads as you scroll to it.
Our trace of the phase 1 map RTA showed in Feb 2026. Station spots are close, not exact. Tap a line for details.
Phase 1 stations
- DIFC 2 · north end, by the financial centre
- ICD Brookfield Place · middle of the line
- Zabeel Dubai Mall Parking · on a short spur
- Burj Khalifa · south end, Downtown
Being built · Metro Blue Line
A new Metro line across the Creek
RTA is building a 30 km Metro line with 14 stations for AED 20.5 billion. It crosses Dubai Creek on a 1.3 km bridge and opens on 9 Sep 2029, the Metro's 20th birthday.
30 km15.5 km under ground, 14.5 km above
14stations on two routes
1.3 kmbridge over Dubai Creek
9 Sep 2029opening day set by RTA
20%built by 3 May 2026
Being built · flying taxis
The first vertiport is at DXB
Joby will fly its S4 flying taxi in Dubai, and Skyports builds the vertiports. The first, at DXB, is built and certified. RTA aims to start passenger flights by the end of 2026, and says DXB to Palm Jumeirah takes about 12 minutes.
The first 4 sites
- DXB, Dubai International · built, GCAA certified 7 Jul 2026
- Dubai Marina, American University in Dubai · nearly complete (Joby, May 2026)
- Downtown, Dubai Mall · work due to start, last report Apr 2026
- Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis The Royal · work due to start, last report Apr 2026
How to spot them
The cars on Dubai's roads
What each one looks like, who runs it and who sits inside.
Apollo Go with Dubai Taxi · ride todayApollo Go RT6
Grey body, black roof and a low black sensor housing on top. 'Dubai Future Ride' on the front door.
On board: No driver; staff sometimes ride along4.77 m long · 1.72 m high · press figuresWeRide on Uber · ride todayWeRide Robotaxi GXR
Tall van in plain gloss black or dark graphite, with a sliding side door and a sensor bar over the windscreen.
On board: No driver5.02 m long · 1.94 m high · WeRide lengthPony.ai · testingPony.ai test car
Grey Lexus RX with a tall black sensor tower on the roof, topped by a round lidar.
On board: Driverless trials, no riders yet4.89 m long · 1.70 m high · Lexus figures, body onlyWeRide · RAK pilotWeRide Robobus
Silver box on wheels with a black glass band and rounded corners. Runs between hotels on Al Marjan Island.
On board: Safety officer5.50 m long · 2.65 m high · press figuresDubai Loop · being builtTesla Model Y
Plain white Teslas in RTA's renders. They will run in the tunnels, not on the street.
On board: Driver at first4.75 m long · 1.62 m high · Tesla figuresSide by side, to one scale
Tesla Model Y 4.8 mApollo Go RT6 4.8 mWeRide GXR 5.0 mWeRide Robobus 5.5 mJoby S4 7.3 m
Each picture is sized to the published length and height. Lengths: Tesla, WeRide and press figures; the Joby S4 length (7.3 m) is from the press. Illustrations, not photos.
Dated record
From 2009 to the 2030 goal
Key Dubai dates from official releases. Hollow dots are still to come.
Coming up
- First air taxi passengers in DubaiDate revised · end of 2026 (RTA, 2 Aug 2026); later in 2026 (Joby, Feb 2026) ir.jobyaviation.com
- Pony.ai paid robotaxi service in DubaiOn schedule · later in 2026 cnevpost.com
- Blue Line to reach 30% completeOn schedule · end of 2026 mediaoffice.ae
- 1,000 Apollo Go taxis in DubaiAnnounced · Apr 2028 mediaoffice.ae
- Blue Line opens to ridersOn schedule · 9 Sep 2029 mediaoffice.ae
- Dubai Taxi: over 1,000 driverless carsAnnounced · 2030 dubaitaxi.ae
- Goal: 25% of Dubai trips driverlessIn progress · 2030 dubaifuture.ae
Recently done
- Abu Dhabi signs tunnel study with Boring CompanyDelivered mediaoffice.abudhabi
- Dubai Mobility Labs opensDelivered thenationalnews.com
- Robots deliver inside office towersDelivered khaleejtimes.com
- Federal law for self-driving vehicles approvedDelivered khaleejtimes.com
- Apollo Go joins Uber in DubaiDelivered investor.uber.com
- Abu Dhabi issues number plates for driverless carsDelivered admobility.gov.ae
- Abu Dhabi opens a central AV control roomDelivered admobility.gov.ae
Numbers
Fleets and fares
What a kilometre costs in Dubai
AED per km, Oct 2026. Owning and renting assume 15,000 km a year.
The driverless taxi bar uses Apollo Go's AED 5 flat fare on one 13.7 km route. Logged rides will replace it.
More on PlaidCars
Guides that go deeper
Dubai’s robotaxis are live: what that means if you own a TeslaFSD and Autopilot in the UAE: what works, and how to verify an FSD-activated listingDubai Autonomous Zone (DAZ): what was promised, and what has happened a year onDubai 2040 Urban Master Plan: what the Dubai master plan means for Tesla and EV drivers