Uber and Chinese partner WeRide just flipped the switch on the world's first fully driverless robotaxi service outside the US and China. After a year of testing with safety drivers, their Abu Dhabi service is now operating without human backup on Yas Island, marking a major milestone for international autonomous vehicle deployment.
The moment autonomous vehicle advocates have been waiting for just happened in an unexpected place. Uber and Chinese AV company WeRide officially removed human safety operators from their Abu Dhabi robotaxi fleet, creating the first fully driverless commercial service outside the US and China.
This isn't just another pilot program. Riders can now open the Uber app in Abu Dhabi, select the "Autonomous" option, and get picked up by a completely empty WeRide vehicle on Yas Island - home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit. The service mirrors Uber's successful partnership with Waymo in Austin, where fully autonomous rides have been operating since earlier this year.
The timing is no accident. WeRide secured federal approval from the UAE just last month to operate without safety drivers, according to TechCrunch reporting. The regulatory greenlight came after months of data collection from their supervised operations that launched in December 2024.
"Today's fully autonomous launch in Abu Dhabi represents a historic transportation milestone," Sarfraz Maredia, Uber's head of autonomous mobility, told TechCrunch. The milestone matters because it proves autonomous vehicles can work outside the controlled environments of Phoenix or San Francisco.
The operational mechanics are surprisingly straightforward. Riders booking UberX or Uber Comfort in Abu Dhabi might get matched with a WeRide robotaxi automatically. Those wanting to guarantee an autonomous ride can specifically select the "Autonomous" option in the app. Fleet operations partner Tawasul handles the behind-the-scenes logistics.
But this Abu Dhabi launch is really about Uber's broader autonomous strategy coming together. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi forecast during Q3 earnings calls that autonomous vehicles would be operating on the Uber platform in at least 10 cities by end of 2026. The company has locked up partnerships with 20 different AV companies across multiple continents.
