Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Robotaxis in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Public driverless rides: Apollo Go (Baidu), WeRide.

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates - WeRide (announced)Ras Al KhaimahRiyadh, Saudi Arabia - WeRide (public, with operator)RiyadhAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Apollo Go (Baidu) (paid driverless), WeRide (paid driverless)Abu DhabiDubai, United Arab Emirates - Apollo Go (Baidu) (paid driverless), WeRide (paid driverless), Pony.ai (driverless tests)Dubai

How to ride here

  • Apollo Go (Baidu) Open to the public - book in the AutoGo app.
  • WeRide Open to the public - book in the Uber app.

Services

Apollo Go (Baidu)

Paid driverless service
  1. Testing
  2. Driverless tests
  3. Staff and invitees
  4. Public, with operator
  5. Driverless, free
  6. Paid driverless

Open to the public - book in the AutoGo app.

Who can ride
Open to the public
App
AutoGo
Partner
AutoGo (K2)
Service area
Yas Island; phased expansion planned to Reem, Al Maryah and Saadiyat Islands
Area size
not published
Airport
not published
Highways
not published
Fleet (official)
not published
Fares
not published
Public driverless since

History

  1. Driverless testing - Months of fully driverless public-road testing before the November 2025 permit. source
  2. Paid driverless service - Fully driverless ride-hailing open to the public on Yas Island via the AutoGo app, after ITC commercial permit in November 2025. source

Announced next

  • Announcement Scale to hundreds of fully driverless vehicles in Abu Dhabi Target: 2026. Announced . source
Sources (3)
  1. Baidu's Apollo Go and K2's AutoGo announce fleet expansion plan in Abu Dhabi - TNGlobal / PR Newswire, 11 Nov 2025
  2. Apollo Go expands Abu Dhabi autonomous fleet - IoT M2M Council, 24 Nov 2025
  3. Baidu-backed Apollo Go starts public driverless taxi service in Abu Dhabi - TechNode, 19 Jan 2026

Last checked - last change

WeRide

Paid driverless service
  1. Testing
  2. Driverless tests
  3. Staff and invitees
  4. Public, with operator
  5. Driverless, free
  6. Paid driverless

Open to the public - book in the Uber app.

Who can ride
Open to the public
App
Uber
Partner
Uber; Tawasul (fleet operator)
Service area
Fully driverless on Yas Island first; with a safety driver in downtown areas incl. Al Reem, Al Maryah, Khalifa City, Masdar City, Rabdan and Corniche to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. About 70% of the core urban area approved.
Area size
about 70% of Abu Dhabi core areas (Feb 2026)
Airport
Routes connecting to Zayed International Airport (May 2025)
Highways
not published
Fleet (official)
About 400 robotaxis across the Middle East as of 2026-07-31 (regional figure, not city-specific)
Fares
not published
Public driverless since

History

  1. Public rides with a safety operator - WeRide and Uber launch robotaxi ride-hailing partnership in Abu Dhabi (WeRide has served Yas, Saadiyat and airport routes since 2021). source
  2. Driverless testing - Fully driverless trial operations announced on public roads (Q2 2025), Al Maryah and Al Reem added. source
  3. Paid driverless service - Public commercial fully driverless operations start on Yas Island via Uber after federal permit (Oct 2025) and ITC licence to WeRide and Tawasul. source

Announced next

  • Announcement WeRide and Uber commit to at least 1,200 robotaxis across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh Target: 2027. Announced . source
Sources (4)
  1. WeRide Launches Fully Driverless Robotaxi Trial Operations in Abu Dhabi, Broadens Service Coverage - WeRide, 16 May 2025
  2. WeRide and Uber Launch Middle East's First Fully Driverless Robotaxi Commercial Operations in Abu Dhabi, UAE - WeRide / Yahoo Finance, 26 Nov 2025
  3. WeRide scales Abu Dhabi robotaxi service to 70% of core districts - ZAG Daily, 12 Feb 2026
  4. WeRide Q2 and 1H 2026 results (Form 6-K exhibit 99.1) - WeRide / SEC, 12 Aug 2026

Last checked - last change

Rules in this country

  • Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Driverless robotaxi service requires a UAE federal permit plus an ITC operating licence. In 2025 ITC issued the emirate's first fully driverless commercial permits (WeRide with Tawasul, Apollo Go with AutoGo), and both run public driverless service; WeRide still uses safety drivers in parts of the city.
  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates - RTA issues trial and driverless permits and partners directly with operators. After Apollo Go received Dubai's first fully driverless testing permit in January 2026 and WeRide a driverless permit in February 2026, RTA launched commercial autonomous taxi operations in Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah on 2026-03-31 (phase 1: 100 vehicles). Dubai targets 25% of trips to be autonomous by 2030.