Okay, so Uber and WeRide are taking things to the next level in Abu Dhabi. After a year of testing the waters with their robotaxi service, they're finally ditching the safety driver. That's right, fully driverless robotaxis are now a reality on the streets of Yas Island. It's a pretty big deal, marking the first time this kind of tech has been deployed outside of the US or China.

How does it work? Well, if you're an Uber user in Abu Dhabi, you might just get matched with a WeRide robotaxi when you select Uber Comfort or UberX. If you're feeling adventurous, you can even choose the "Autonomous" option to up your chances of getting a ride in one of these self-driving cars.

I'm curious to see how riders will react. Will people embrace the idea of a completely driverless ride, or will there be some initial hesitation? I imagine seeing a car pull up with no one behind the wheel could be a bit unnerving at first.

Uber's been busy making friends in the autonomous vehicle world. They've partnered with tons of companies across different countries, not just for robotaxis, but also for delivery and trucking. For example, they've teamed up with May Mobility and Volkswagen, plus some big names in China like Momenta, Pony.ai, and Baidu. There's even a plan to create a fancy robotaxi service using Lucid Gravity SUVs with self-driving tech from Nuro.

It sounds like all of these partnerships are starting to pay off. With the robotaxi service already launched with Waymo in Austin, the move to Abu Dhabi feels like a natural progression. And, according to Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, we can expect to see autonomous vehicles popping up in at least 10 cities by 2026. Plus, there's talk of expanding to 15 cities in the Middle East and Europe with WeRide, eventually scaling up to thousands of robotaxis. It's a huge jump from WeRide's current fleet of 150 in the region. The future is here, and it's looking pretty autonomous!