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Baidu self-driving taxi offers safe rides without a driver in China


Baidu has become the first company in China to be granted a license to operate a commercial self-driving taxi service without safe driving.

Baidu’s service, called Apollo Go, has established and operating in regions of China from 2021but always have a safe driver behind the wheel or in the front passenger seat.

That changed on Monday when the company announced its service was now allowed to run on open roads in the cities of Chongqing and Wuhan without a driver safely, albeit only during the day. from 9am to 5pm in Chongqing and 9am to 4:30pm in Wuhan. The areas where taxis are currently operating are also limited, measuring about 12 square miles in Chongqing’s Yongchuan district and just five in Wuhan’s Technology Development Zone.

The plan is to expand these zones as well as add more cities. Baidu’s taxis are also operating in areas of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and the company is applying for permission to have services in Beijing and Guangzhou, freeing up demand for people. next safe driving.

Baidu also aims to double the number of taxis on China’s roads to around 600 by the end of the year.

“This is a tremendous change in substance,” Wei Dong, head of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group, said in a statement. “Fully driverless cars offering rides on open roads to paying customers means we’ve finally arrived at the moment the industry has been waiting for.”

Baidu's Apollo RT6 self-driving taxi

Baidu’s Apollo RT6 self-driving taxi

In order to receive a license, Baidu taxis need to go through an extensive testing and licensing process, starting from testing with a safe driver behind the wheel to a safe driver in the seat. front passenger and finally get a license to operate without anyone on board.

Baidu, often referred to as China’s Google as the largest search engine operator in the country, also unveiled its sixth-generation self-driving taxi. Dubbed Apollo RT6, the vehicle is said to have a unit price of 250,000 yuan ($37,000) and will start operating in 2023.

United States, Alphabet’s Waymo and General Motors-backed yachts allowed to charge fares on their respective driverless taxis. Waymo’s service is limited to parts of Phoenix but is being tested in San Francisco, while Cruise’s service is limited to parts of San Francisco.



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