Dubai pushes the pedal to the metal on driverless cars

DUBAI — Already home to the world's biggest skyscraper, Dubai has another tall order to fill: By 2030, its leader wants 25 per cent of all trips on its roads to be done by driverless vehicles.

Monday's announcement by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum came without warning and with few details, as is sometimes the case with the many aspirations of the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In this car-crazed city-state of over 1.5 million registered vehicles, it's not unusual to see Ferraris idling alongside Lamborghinis at traffic lights. And Dubai already is home to a driverless Metro rail system, which carried 178 million riders in 2015.

Smart-car technology is being used in some of the world's luxury vehicles, and it is advancing rapidly enough for the plan to become a reality — or a nightmare for the thousands of taxi drivers who now plying the streets among the sleek skyscrapers in the UAE's commercial capital.

In a statement carried by the state-run WAM news agency, Sheikh Mohammed said the plan would cut down on costs and traffic accidents. The project would be a joint venture by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority and the Dubai Future Foundation, he said, without offering how it would be funded in the oil-rich nation.

"Today, we lay down a clear strategy with specific goals for smart transportation to form one of the key drivers for achieving sustainable economy in the UAE," said Sheikh Mohammed, who can be seen driving himself around Dubai in his white Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, license plate No. 1.

Dubai boasts the world's tallest building with the 828-metre Burj Khalifa, which opened in 2010. In 2020, it will host the World Expo, a world's fair that is held every five years.

Mattar Al Tayer, the director general and chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority, said his agency has contacted a number of driverless vehicle sellers and "plans to conduct live test-runs for these vehicles in Dubai”.

His agency already has signed a deal with Toulouse, France-based driverless vehicle manufacturer EasyMile to conduct tests on their box-shaped EZ10, which carries up to 10 passengers, according to a statement from Tayer.

For now, Dubai and EasyMile haven't made any financial commitment to each other, said Ahmed Bahrozyan, the CEO of the Roads and Transport Authority's licensing agency. Instead, EasyMile is using the opportunity to test its battery life and air conditioners against Dubai's summertime heat, which goes easily beyond 40°C, he said.

"Our strategy is not only looking at private cars, but looking at taxis, looking at buses, looking at... cable car systems," Bahrozyan told The Associated Press.