Dubai strikes deal with Cruise to roll out self-driving taxis

  • Date: 13-Apr-2021
  • Source: Saudi Gazette
  • Sector:Transport
  • Country:UAE
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Dubai strikes deal with Cruise to roll out self-driving taxis

DUBAI — Dubai's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) and Cruise, a leading US-based autonomous vehicle company backed by General Motors signed a deal on Monday to operate self-driving taxis and ride-hailing services in the emirate.The agreement, which was signed in the presence of Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is also the chairman of Dubai Executive Council, will make Dubai the first non-US city in the world where Cruise will commercially operate these vehicles.The deployment of these self-driving vehicles is expected to significantly improve road safety levels as over 90 percent of accidents are due to human errors. All-electric vehicles are environmentally friendly and capable of serving a wide range of clients from different community segments, including seniors and people of determination.This agreement will support Dubai's 2030 vision for self-driving technology, as part of which the emirate seeks to reduce transportation costs by 900 million dirhams a year and save 1.5 billion dirhams a year by reducing environmental pollution by 12 percent, as well as generate