Tech giant Baidu recently announced that it has obtained the country’s first permits to offer commercial, fully driverless robotaxi services to the public on open roads.Īpollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service arm, has been authorized to charge fares for robotaxi services－without human drivers and safety operators in the car－in some areas, with the latest being Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, and Chongqing. Technology companies in China have accelerated steps to conduct commercial operations of autonomous, so-called robotaxi services, given that policies have become more favorable in some cities, industry experts said. Large-scale commercialization of self-driving technology could become a reality sooner than expected. “I never thought I would experience self-driving vehicles myself.
It can identify stop signs and traffic lights, automatically slow down and finally come to a halt,” Zhang said. “The vehicle runs smoothly with no shaking or sudden braking. A few minutes later, a self-driving taxi approaches－with no need for a human operator behind the steering wheel, but a safety operator sits in the front passenger seat to ensure safety in case of emergency.
He said all he needs to do is input the pick-up and drop-off points and the number of passengers. Zhang Xinlei, a 28-year-old software engineer from Yizhuang, a Beijing suburb, often hails a driverless robotaxi by using ride-hailing apps on his mobile phone for trips such as a night out with friends. BEIJING – Wider use allowed in cities as technology advances quickly
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