Dubai to roll out autonomous taxis next month, says DTC

• First trip by next month, says CEO
• Deal with unnamed provider
• Available in 3 or 4 zones

Autonomous taxis will be driving the streets of Dubai next month, according to the CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC).

Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi told AGBI a deal will be signed “very soon” with “one of the biggest operators”, but did not provide further details.

“Hopefully we’re going to see and run the first trip through the autonomous taxi, and the history of DTC, by next month,” he said.

Alfalasi said the vehicles will initially have a driver, before making the gradual transition to being fully autonomous.

The service will be available in “three or four zones” across Dubai.

“Most probably it will be in the dense areas like Jumeirah and maybe near to Burj Khalifa and the Downtown zone. They are considering these zones of course,” said Alfalasi, who added the plan was to have between 50 and 100 cars for the launch.

He said expenses would be split between the DTC, a subsidiary of state-owned Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and the operator.

“We have a balanced way to do it through the partnership with the operator that we’re going to sign the contract with,” he said.

In January Dubai granted its first permit for the testing of fully driverless vehicles to Apollo Go, Chinese technology company Baidu’s ride‑hailing platform, with a view to rolling out in the first quarter of this year.

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Group also plans to move into the UAE’s autonomous mobility sector as part of its broader global expansion strategy.

Alfalasi hinted at a potential deal for “another mode of transport”, although he was unable to provide further details as a result of a signed non-disclosure agreement.

Dubai has announced several new transport projects including the Dubai Loop, a $680 million underground mass-transit system designed to move passengers across the city using electric vehicles in dedicated tunnels.

California-based Glydways, meanwhile, is working with Dubai and Abu Dhabi to explore the deployment of its system of autonomous electric vehicles that run on wheels in dedicated lanes.

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Net profit for 2025 at DTC rose 7 percent year on year to AED356.1 million ($97 million), driven by fleet growth and higher trip volumes across taxis and limousine services, which DTC operates alongside buses and delivery bikes. 

Revenue for the year increased by 13 percent to AED2.47 billion, the company said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market on Tuesday.

As of December 2025 the operational taxi fleet reached 6,217, including 525 fully electric vehicles, and a workforce in excess of 20,000. DTC completed 53 million trips in 2025, up 8 percent year on year. Taxi and limousine e-hailing trips increased 24 percent compared with 2024 to 20.8 million.

DTC signed a 20-year agreement with global shared mobility company Bolt in 2024 to launch e-hailing services in Dubai.

Alfalasi said the plan this year is to take the service to neighbouring emirates, with Bolt due to arrive in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman this year.

“At the same time we are exploring more services and more verticals like rent-a-car and the box (delivery) service with Bolt,” he said.

Dubai Investment Fund owns a 75 percent stake in the company. Shares of DTC were up 0.36 percent at AED2.76 on Tuesday morning, up 7 percent so far this year.