Dubai’s RTA to transform taxis to 100% green vehicles by 2027

Credit: Roads and Transport Authority

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that its Board of Directors have endorsed a plan to transform taxis in Dubai (Dubai Taxi and franchise company taxis) into 100% environmentally friendly (hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered) by 2027. The move meets the requirements of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, the Green Economy drive, and the Dubai government’s strategic directions toward comprehensive environmental sustainability.

RTA has already made significant progress in this regard, successfully transforming 72% of the taxis in Dubai into environmentally friendly vehicles, comprising a total of 8,221 hybrid vehicles. This aligns with the authority’s overarching goal of optimising energy usage and creating a sustainable environment.

“The five-year plan (2023-2027) aims to switch the entire taxi fleet into fully environmentally friendly – hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered – within five years at a rate of 10% per annum to achieve the targeted 100% by 2027. The plan is aligned with RTA’s roadmap for transforming public transport means into emission free by 2050,” said His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority.

According to Al Tayer, the results of experiments on green vehicles, which RTA had started trialling in 2008, confirm the environmental benefits of reducing carbon emissions, fuel consumption and maintenance costs, as well as decreasing noise levels.

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“Hybrid vehicles also have a longer lifespan compared to regular vehicles and cost less in the long run. They are characterised by lower purchase prices, maintenance fees, fuel expenses, insurance premiums, and other associated costs that potentially could be as low as 50% of regular vehicles,” said Al Tayer. 

Taxis have a huge role in Dubai as the operating taxi fleet in the city reached 11,371 taxis by the end of 2022, and taxis made 105 million trips, travelling over two billion kilometres throughout the year. 

Dubai’s initial plan to transition 50% of its taxi fleet into greener fuels has produced a significant reduction in carbon emissions by as much as 420,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 70,000 tonnes per year. 

The Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) now has the largest fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles in the city, with hybrid vehicles accounting for over 34% of the taxis fleet.  It is followed by Cars Taxi, National Taxi, Arabia Taxi and Metro Taxi.