Saudi Arabia Wants Ride-Hailing Apps to Support Autonomous Cars. The Rule Is Still a Draft

Saudi Arabia is preparing the regulatory layer that could let an autonomous car appear inside the same app ecosystem currently used to book conventional rides.

The Transport General Authority has proposed amendments to the executive regulation governing passenger transport mediation through electronic applications.

The stated objective is to allow autonomous passenger transport services to be provided through that activity.

But the amendment is still under consultation.

The consultation closes on October 1

The proposal was released for public and industry feedback in September.

Stakeholders have until October 1 to submit comments.

That means the draft should not yet be described as an effective final rule.

Consultation is part of the rulemaking process, not the end of it.

The change is about the platform layer

Saudi Arabia is not simply considering whether autonomous vehicles can exist on public roads.

This proposal addresses how autonomous passenger services could connect to the digital intermediary layer used to match passengers with transport.

That matters commercially because consumer access often depends on whether a technology can plug into familiar booking and payment systems.

A regulatory pathway does not mean immediate availability

Even if the amendments are adopted, app-based regulatory permission would not automatically mean autonomous rides become available across Saudi cities overnight.

Vehicle approvals, operating licences, technical requirements, geographic permissions and safety conditions can sit at different stages.

The proposed amendment solves one part of that stack.

Public consultation can change Saudi draft rules

Saudi Arabia's National Competitiveness Center says government entities adopted more than 500 comments submitted through the Istitlaa platform during the first half of 2026.

Those responses led to changes including rewritten provisions, altered requirements, reduced penalties and modified scopes of application.

That makes the consultation stage worth watching rather than treating it as a procedural formality.

The commercial question comes after the rule

If autonomous vehicles can ultimately be integrated into licensed ride-hailing platforms, operators could reach passengers through existing demand channels rather than building entirely separate booking ecosystems.

The more important question will then become which platforms, vehicle operators and cities are approved first.

What Arabian Current is watching

Watch for the final amendment after consultation, any changes to the draft, the operational requirements imposed on platforms and the first licensed autonomous passenger services connected to consumer apps.

The strongest signal will be when regulatory text becomes an actual bookable ride.