Baidu greenlighted for China's first-ever commercial driverless Robotaxi service

Beijing (Gasgoo)- On August 8th, China’s tech giant Baidu was greenlighted to conduct fully autonomous Robotaxi service without drivers or safety operators onboard and charge fares as China’s first.

Photo credit: Baidu

The company’s Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service is permitted to collect fares for fully crewless Robotaxi rides on open roads in Chongqing and Wuhan. 

Photo credit: Baidu

The permits were granted to Baidu by local authorities in Wuhan and Chongqing’s Yongchuan District. Both cities have been pioneering new approaches to intelligent transportation in recent years, from developing infrastructures to updating new regulations for autonomous vehicles.

The newly issued licenses allow Baidu to provide fully driverless Robotaxi services in designated areas in Wuhan from 9 am to 5 pm, and Chongqing from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, with a fleet of five Apollo 5th-gen Robotaxis in each city. Residents in each city can hail a ride in the 13-square-kilometer area in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone, and the 30-square-kilometer area in Chongqing’s Yongchuan District.

As the only company granted such permits from two Chinese megacities, Baidu has undergone multiple stages of testing and permission. Its autonomous vehicles started from testing with a safety operator in the driver's seat, to testing with a safety operator in the passenger seat, and finally receiving authorization to operate with no human driver or operator in the vehicle.