Dubai to pilot Glydways autonomous transit network

• Several initial routes proposed
• Working towards Dubai launch this year
• Company’s vehicles run on dedicated lanes

Dubai has signed up with California-based Glydways to build an automated transit network in an effort to tackle the emirate’s growing congestion.

The agreement, inked at the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai, provides for the study of several proposed initial routes, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said in a statement.

A planned pilot route spanning 2.8km will link the National Paints Metro Station to Bluewaters Island. 

Additional routes will connect Dubai Metro stations to key destinations such as Madinat Jumeirah, Alserkal Avenue, Times Square Centre and Dubai Festival City, strengthening integration with the metro network.

Chief executive Mark Seeger told AGBI last month that Glydways is working towards a possible launch in Dubai before the end of 2026.

The company’s autonomous electric vehicles run on wheels and dedicated lanes. These can be added to the side of existing roads, above or underground.

Each vehicle has a capacity of four to six passengers and an operating speed of up to 50km per hour, the RTA said. The vehicles are equipped with 20 high-resolution LiDAR sensors, advanced radar systems and high-definition cameras. 

RTA director-general Mattar Al Tayer said a Glydways network can move more than 20,000 passengers per hour, provide capital cost savings of up to 90 percent and operational cost reductions of up to 70 percent compared to other forms of transport.

The project will be implemented under a public-private partnership, he said.

Further reading:

• LA syndrome and the paradox of Dubai growth
• Rail to do heavy lifting for GCC in age of flying taxis
• Traffic congestion tightens grip on Dubai and Riyadh
• Gulf races ahead on infrastructure for flying taxis

Glydways also signed an interim agreement with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office in November to assess the feasibility of deploying its mass transit system in the UAE capital.

Traffic congestion costs residents of Dubai and Riyadh a full working week every year, underlining how it has become a defining feature of life in the Gulf’s major cities.

Dubai residents spend an average of 35 hours a year stuck in traffic, while those in Riyadh experience 34 hours of delays, according to Breaking the Middle East’s Billion-Dollar Traffic Challenge, which draws on 2024 data from global traffic analytics platforms INRIX and TomTom.