Uber, a well-known ride-hailing company, has teamed up with WeRide, a Chinese company that specializes in self-driving car technology, to offer a new service in Abu Dhabi that uses robotaxis. This is a significant step for Uber, as it’s their first time providing a self-driving vehicle service outside of their home country.
Uber has been busy forming partnerships with different companies that are involved in creating self-driving technologies for various uses, including ride-hailing, deliveries, and trucking. Some of the companies they are collaborating with include Wayve, Serve Robotics, Aurora Innovation, and Waabi, to name a few.
However, there are concerns among investors. They worry that established companies like Uber may struggle to keep up with competitors that are creating the actual self-driving technology, such as Waymo and maybe even Tesla. This was reflected in the stock market when Uber’s share price fell by nearly 10% after Waymo announced its own plans to start a robotaxi service in Miami. Even though it’s true that we’re still a few years away from fully autonomous vehicles revolutionizing the ride-hailing industry, investors are anxious about the competition. In fact, it’s likely that riders will eventually use Uber’s app to connect to these self-driving cars.
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The service Uber is launching with WeRide in Abu Dhabi will start on a small scale. A spokesperson from Uber mentioned that they haven’t disclosed how many self-driving cars will operate there initially. The first area this robotaxi service will cover includes Saadiyat Island, Yas Island, and routes to and from Zayed International Airport, with plans for it to grow in the future.
At the beginning of this service, there will be a human safety operator inside each robotaxi to ensure everything runs smoothly. The goal is to eventually roll out a fully driverless version of the service by 2025. To manage their fleet of robotaxis and help with logistics, Uber and WeRide will collaborate with a local transport company called Tawasul Transport.
