The ominous leader of one of the leading cities in the world has made a surprising announcement on the future of its automotive industry a few days' ago. And what better to say it than on social media.
Vice President and UAE Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, took to his personal Twitter account to broadcast the launch of Dubai's newest strategy which would see the stream of driverless cars cruising its highways, according to Gulf News. Sheikh Mohammed said that by 2030, he hopes to see 25 percent of transportation services in Dubai running smart and driverless at the same time.
The announcement was a part of the government's plan for Dubai to become a sustainable economic zone in the UAE, aside from its drive to become the world's smartest city. A 10-seater driverless transport is currently on a trial run in the city, which was featured at the MENA Congress UITP that took off this Monday. It was also a firsthand experience for an autonomous vehicle to go on a test run on a preset travel route.
Sheikh Mohammed also stated that the said strategy is expected to create more economic revenue for the city as well as up to $60 billion (Dh22 billion) in savings. Driverless vehicles would let people save wasted travel hours and increase individual productivity, the Sheikh added.
Aside from the positive insights of the Sheikh's news, the use of driverless technology would also lead to risk reduction of road accidents and further losses. Dubai Future Foundation and the Roads and Transport Authority are set to join in partnership for the project, as per the news agency.
The city-state is already home to more than 1.5 million vehicles, and not uncommon for people or tourists to see Ferraris and other luxury vehicles whizzing on its roads, according to ABC News. Dubai also has a driverless Metro railway system, known to have accommodated close to 178 million passengers last 2015.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
