In Abu Dhabi, a special kind of electric bus that looks like a tram is now in operation. These self-driving buses run between 25 different stops, traveling from Reem Mall to Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. These buses can carry up to 240 passengers and were first introduced on Yas Island in December as part of Abu Dhabi's Smart Mobility Project.
These buses stop at many important places in Abu Dhabi, including the Sheikh Hazza Bin Sultan Mosque, the Galleria Al Maryah Island, City Seasons Al Hamra Hotel, Lifeline Hospital, NMC Specialty Hospital, Qasr Al Hosn, Sheraton Khalidiya Hotel, Khalidiya Park, Sheikha Fatima Park, Corniche, and Marina Mall.
The first bus starts its journey at 10 a.m. from Reem Mall and takes a little over an hour to reach Rixos Marina Mall.
As part of the Smart Transportation Project, a smart transportation system is being set up for Abu Dhabi, in partnership with DMT, ITC, and Bayanat. This includes a fleet of 17 vehicles, including driverless taxis and autonomous rapid transit (ART) vehicles, operating on Yas Island and Saadiyat Island. The ART buses have a route on Saadiyat Island, stopping at various important places.
The service is available every day from 8 am to 8 pm on Yas and Saadiyat Islands. To make use of this service, there is an app called Txai that provides all the information and schedules.
In November of the previous year, the Txai service used a driverless bus to transport people to the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
WeRide, a Chinese autonomous driving company that received the UAE's first provisional national license for self-driving vehicles in July, is supporting Bayanat's testing of driverless vehicle operations on Yas Island.
According to Jennifer Li, the vice president of WeRide, the company hopes to have hundreds of autonomous vehicles on the roads in the UAE by 2025. More than 10,000 people have used autonomous taxis in Abu Dhabi over the past 18 months.
