Kazakhstan’s capital prepares for autonomous taxi rollout

The memorandum was signed with the participation of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, the Ministry of Transport, Astana Mayor’s Office, and Yandex Qazaqstan. The parties agreed to jointly work on and, in the future, launch a driverless taxi service in the capital.

"The memorandum provides for a stage-by-stage preparation of the driverless taxi project - from regulatory and technological development to pilot launches. The project implementation is scheduled for 2026 and will be carried out in close cooperation with government agencies and city services," the ministry says.

Driverless taxis are viewed as part of a long-term development of urban mobility. According to international studies, autonomous technologies can reduce accidents by minimizing the human factor, optimize traffic flow, and improve transport accessibility for various groups of the population, including people with limited mobility. In addition, such services may become an important element of a sustainable transport system in major cities.

Chairman of the Digital Assets and Breakthrough Technologies Committee, Gizzat Baiturssynov, emphasized the importance of advancing the issues of safety, responsibility, human-algorithm interaction, as well as developing a regulatory framework.

“Driverless taxis are part of a broader ‘smart city’ ecosystem, where technologies serve the interests of people,” he said.

The signing of the memorandum reflects the common interest of the state, the city, and the technology company in developing innovative transport solutions. At the current stage, the parties will focus on creating a regulatory framework, assessing infrastructure requirements, and analyzing scenarios for integrating autonomous transport into the urban environment, the ministry says.

Earlier, it was reported that Dubai conducted first flight of electric air taxi between two districts.