Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), together with Dubai Holding and US firm Glydways, began a four-week trial on October 11 of a driverless electric pod network on Bluewaters Island. Each pod carries four to six passengers, travels at speeds of up to 50kph and covers up to 250km on a single charge. The vehicles rely on 20 high-resolution lidar sensors, radar and HD cameras to navigate autonomously without a driver.
RTA says the system, once fully deployed, could move more than 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction, since up to ten pods can be virtually linked together with gaps of under one second between them.
Mattar Al Tayer, RTA's director-general, described the trial as an important stage in testing the system's operational and technical readiness, and in assessing whether it can deliver a safe, seamless and reliable mobility experience. Glydways founder and co-chief executive Mark Seeger said Dubai offered an advanced environment for testing future mobility solutions.
RTA also said the pod network's capital costs run about 90 per cent lower than comparable transport systems, with operating costs around 70 per cent lower. If the Bluewaters trial proves successful, RTA is considering extending the network to a 2.8km route linking National Paints metro station with Bluewaters Island, as well as routes serving Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Festival City, Business Bay and Mohammed Bin Rashid City.
The project adds to Dubai's growing portfolio of autonomous transport pilots, as the emirate pushes to diversify first- and last-mile mobility options beyond traditional buses, taxis and the metro network.