Travelling around Abu Dhabi during F1 weekend is about to get so much easier.
The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) has announced that a new fully automated free driverless bus service will be introduced in Abu Dhabi next month, to coincide with the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The new bus, which will be free of charge, will seat seven people and stand a further four and will stop at nine locations on Yas Island, including W Hotel, Yas Waterworld, Yas Marina Circuit and Ferrari World.
The free driverless bus service will also have LED screens inside each cabin to display a map of the route with stop-off points. Another screen will offer entertainment.
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The new free driverless bus service will be particularly convenient for those travelling to Abu Dhabi for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, since many of the events, brunches, parties and concerts are taking place on Yas Island.
The minibus is operated by Txai, the same company that will be introducing the UAE’s first fully driverless taxi service.
“We have integrated a lot of digital maps, technologies, radar, LiDER and cameras to make this project a possibility,” said Sultan al Menhali, project manager of traffic systems at the ITC.
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The driverless mini bus has been developed building on the company’s experience with the pilot-robo-taxi, which have been trialling around Yas Island for almost a year. “The taxis are driverless, but we have a safety officer manning it at all times,” he added.
“In the last year, we have not had a single incident, so we are confident we can seamlessly integrate the buses into the current traffic situation as Yas Island.”
According to the ITC, plans are underway for the free driverless minibus service to operate on Saadiyat Island at some point in 2023, following the success of the month-long trial of the TXAI driverless taxi service in which 2,730 people booked the ride-sharing service.
Launching November. txai.taxi.
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