Mustafa sits motionless behind the wheel, upturned hands in his lap, as his taxi drives itself, bringing the United Arab Emirates closer to an autonomous future.
The safety officer is part of a trial for driverless taxis in the capital of Abu Dhabi, where customers can be picked up and dropped off at nine predetermined spots on Yas Island.
It's been a smooth ride so far, said Mustafa, with no incidents that required major intervention.
In the past few days, most of the customers have ordered taxis from the mall or hotel, he told AFP.
Bayanat, a division of the Abu Dhabi-based Group 42 tech company, launched the trial of four driverless vehicles, two electric and two hybrid vehicles last month under the name TXAI.
At least 10 vehicles and multiple locations across Abu Dhabi will be included in the second phase, according to the company. Customers can order the vehicles using the TXAI app.
In the past few years, robotaxis have been tested at various locations around the world, but commercial use of the vehicles has so far been tentative.
In a month, autonomous cabs were rolled out in Beijing, but also with a safety officer in the driver's seat in case of an emergency.
Hasan al-Hosani, CEO of Bayanat, said removing the safety officers would be a major step.
The milestone to move from L 3 where a safety officer is present to L 4 without a safety officer would be a big one, Hosani told AFP.
The vehicles are already operational. We are collaborating with the authorities to expand our operation area geographically, as well as upgrade to L 4 level. Abu Dhabi is not the only member of the UAE eyeing a driverless future.
Neighbouring Dubai wants to have 25 percent of its transport driverless by 2030, cutting costs, pollution and accidents.
By 2023, Dubai hopes to launch a small fleet of self-driving taxis with plans to reach 4,000 by 2030, according to state media.
The shift is expected to hit taxi drivers, the vast majority of Asian migrant workers, in a country where foreigners make up 90 percent of the 10 million population.
The UAE approved a temporary license to test self-driving cars on the roads last month, but there is no federal legislation yet governing autonomous vehicles.
This remains one of the biggest obstacles.
Hosani said that the technology is new and regulations pertaining to safety and other operational aspects are being developed in real time.