The Ministry of Transportation announced that the operational trials of self-driving electric taxis in the State of Qatar have achieved remarkable progress, after implementing 2,500 trips since the launch of the project in June 2025, in a step that reflects the country’s trend towards employing the latest smart technologies in the transportation sector and enhancing the sustainable mobility system, in line with the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
The Ministry of Transportation revealed in an explanatory infographic through its official account on “X” that 94% of the test flights were carried out successfully without any human intervention, which reflects the level of technical readiness of the systems used, and the progress made in testing autonomous driving solutions within the operational environment in Qatar.
These results come within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to develop an integrated transportation system that relies on modern technologies, contributes to improving the efficiency of transportation, and supports the shift towards smarter and more sustainable means of transportation.
The Ministry confirmed that the first phase was implemented in cooperation with the “Karwa” transportation company, and with the presence of a trained safety official in the driver’s seat to monitor the vehicle’s performance and intervene when necessary, while the experimental commercial service was launched through the “Karwa” application in December 2025.
The concerned authorities are preparing to move to the second phase, which includes operating two autonomous vehicles without a safety official on board, while monitoring them remotely, through three previously tested and approved routes.
The Ministry explained that the implementation of the next phase will be gradual, in accordance with strict requirements for safety, insurance and emergency response, before the service is made available to the public on a wider scale.
In a related context, the Karwa Transportation Company had revealed, in exclusive statements to Al-Arab last September, that its “robo-taxi” vehicles had exceeded one million kilometers of autonomous driving, transporting about 6,500 passengers across 4,500 trips, with a satisfaction rate of 4.87 out of 5 points, which reflects the continuous development of the experience.
