Dubai Taxi Company has announced the launch of a fully driverless taxi service in the emirate in partnership with Baidu via its Apollo Go platform, in a step marking the app's first international presence and supporting Dubai's drive to expand smart mobility solutions.
The company explained that the commercial launch of the service is in line with Dubai's Autonomous Transportation Strategy, which aims to convert 25% of all transport trips in the emirate to smart and autonomous vehicles by 2030, according to a post on the Dubai Taxi website.
Initial operations will start with a fleet of 50 cars in the first year, with a plan for gradual expansion to more than 1,000 autonomous vehicles in the coming years, strengthening Dubai Taxi's presence in the advanced mobility sector. Residents and visitors will be able to book rides via the Apollo Go app, with booking channels later expanded to include the Bolt platform and other apps as the service gradually expands.
Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of the Intelligent Driving Group's overseas business unit, explained that the partnership with Dubai Taxi opens new horizons for the autonomous mobility sector in the emirate, by combining advanced technologies with local operational expertise to provide safe, efficient and scalable services.
For his part, Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi, CEO of Dubai Taxi Group, noted that the launch of the service is a pivotal milestone in supporting Dubai's vision for smart and sustainable mobility, stressing that this step comes after successful operational trials in recent months that proved the vehicles' readiness in terms of safety, reliability and operational efficiency.
The launch comes after Apollo Go obtained in January 2026 the first permit in Dubai to test fully driverless vehicles without a safety driver, along with opening the company's first operations and control center outside China in Dubai in the same month, supporting future expansion plans in the emirate.
Data indicate that the Apollo Go platform had completed more than 20 million rides worldwide by February 2026, while weekly rides exceeded 300,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, and its vehicles have covered more than 300 million kilometers, including more than 190 million km of fully autonomous operation.
To view the post on the Dubai Taxi website, click here.
