Chinese Tech Firm Brings Driverless Taxis to Abu Dhabi — Like, Actually No Driver!

Chinese Tech Firm Brings Driverless Taxis to Abu Dhabi — Like, Actually No Driver!

So I just heard this wild news from Abu Dhabi — you know WeRide, that Chinese tech company? They're literally putting taxis on the road with NOBODY driving them. Not even a safety person! First in the whole Middle East.

These robot cars (still weird calling them that tbh) are hitting Abu Dhabi streets this quarter. They've already been testing on Yas and Saadiyat, but now they're expanding to Al Marya and Al Reem islands too.

WeRide isn't just some random startup jumping into this. They've actually had the UAE's only national autonomous driving license since mid-2023... guess that explains why they're moving so fast with this!

The crazy part? They already launched robotaxis with Uber back in December, but those still had people sitting behind the wheel "just in case." This is different — completely empty driver's seat. Kinda freaks me out a little, not gonna lie.

If all goes according to plan (big if!), regular people like us can start riding in these driverless taxis by summer 2025. Imagine trying to explain that to someone from even just 10 years ago!

This is huge for Abu Dhabi's tech reputation. They're always talking about being innovative, but this is actual proof — biggest self-driving program outside America and China.

I wonder how traditional taxi drivers feel about this... probably not thrilled?

Anyway, next time you're in Abu Dhabi and your taxi shows up empty, don't freak out — it's supposed to be that way! Welcome to the future, I guess?