Baidu’s driverless vehicles greenlighted for open road test in Chongqing

Beijing (Gasgoo)- On May 25th, Baidu announced that it has become the first company to receive driverless autonomous driving road test licenses (with an empty driver’s seat, and a safety driver on the passenger seat) in Chongqing.

Apollo Moon ARCFOX; photo credit: Baidu

Early on, Chongqing’s Yongchuan District released a notice that allows self-driving vehicles to perform open road tests in its intelligent connected vehicle pilot area. The authorities then issued licenses to Baidu, permitting Baidu to conduct driverless road tests in the area. This marked another city authorizing Baidu to operate fully autonomous driving vehicles after Beijing, where Baidu’s driverless vehicles are serving the public via its Apollo Go Robotaxi service.

According to the tech giant, it will initially deploy five Apollo Moon-powered ARCFOX autonomous vehicles in the 85 square kilometers of open testing roads in Yongchuan District. Notably, Baidu’s Robotaxi ride-hailing platform, Apollo Go, has been serving residents in Yongchuan District for a while. Passengers can hail a ride at any one of the 60 pick-up stations scattered in scenic areas, schools, shopping areas, residential areas, and industrial parks. 

Baidu is optimistic about also providing driverless Robotaxi service to passengers in Chongqing in the near future.