Tuesday, July 7, 2026
MOT Supervises Successful Electric Robotaxis Pilot
Mowasalat (Karwa) has successfully conducted a tryout of electric robotaxis, under the Ministry of Transport’s supervision.The robotaxis made a round trip between the headquarters of the MOT and the Old Doha Port in what is seen as an extension of the project’s successes.“This pioneering project aligns with the plans of the Autonomous Vehicles Strategy developed by the MOT and which aims to leverage advanced technology applications—incorporating the latest smart, ecofriendly systems—within the public transportation industry, and the departments concerned with the MOT keep pace with best universal practices in terms of adopting smart and sustainable mobility solutions”, said MOT’s Assistant Undersecretary for Land Transport Affairs Abdullah Saif Al-Sulaiti.He said that the pilots followed highest known safety standards, and the MOT is to launch the next operational phases in collaboration with Karwa.According to the In-Charge of Road Affairs Dept. with the MOT Eng. Nayla Khaled Al Noaimi, today’s successful robotaxis pilot shows the operating and technical systems are ready for the broader adoption of autonomous services and the switch to the second phase is highly likely the goal of which is to advance to the full run of autonomous vehicles, without a driver, in coordination with the authorities concerned in Qatar.MOT’s Land Transport Licensing Dept. Director Hamad Ali Al-Marri emphasized the MOT pay great attention to embracing reliable and secure services for the public and continuing improving land transportation services quality to the best standards of innovation and sustainability.The CEO of Mowasalat (Karwa) Ahmed Hassan Al-Obaidly said; "We are working side-by-side with and under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport on this vital project. At Mowasalat, we dedicated all necessary resources – including skilled personnel, workforce, vehicles, technology, and advanced software – to ensure the success of this initiative across all its stages. Our goal is to deliver the service to the public with the highest standards of safety and comfort, while keeping pace with developments in the public transport sector and aligning with Qatar National Vision 2030."Phase one of the project, since it began in August 2025 and was followed by kicking off the pilot commercial service via Karwa app last December, included 2500 trips in the form of autonomous vehicle run under the supervision of a trained safety officer (SO) in the driver’s seat.The pilot phase reported satisfactory and positive outcomes with a successful commercial operation, high passenger satisfaction, and safety rates beyond initial targets. Pilot trips were 94% successful with no human interference.The project’s second phase would include the remote operation (RO) of 2 autonomous robotaxis with no SO onboard, on 3 routes that had previously been tested and approved: Old Doha Port-The Gate Mall, Souq Waqif–Sheraton Doha Hotel, and MIA–West Bay.The second phase will be carried out gradually on each route separately so that moving from one phase to another is conditioned on meeting all the necessary safety requirements. The service will be made available to the public via Karwa app after verifying and guaranteeing a fully safe deployment and operation.
