BAIDU launched its Apollo Go robotaxi service in the Chinese cities of Changsha and Cangzhou back in August, shortly after announcing that its autonomous driving computer is ready for use on the streets. Now, Apollo Go has also made its way to Beijing, making it the first autonomous car service operating in the nation’s capital.

Apollo Go’s service area in Beijing encompasses 700 kilometers of road with 100 pick-up and drop-off stations across several residential and business areas. Baidu says it has the longest road network for a manned autonomous driving test in China.

The launch event was held at Apollo Park, the world’s largest autonomous driving and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) test base and one of the Apollo Go stations, located in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The tech giant will start operations with 40 autonomous vehicles in the capital. They will still have human drivers behind the wheel, though the ultimate goal is providing a truly driverless taxi experience.

Passengers will be able to hail one of the service’s robotaxis by signing up on Baidu Maps or on the Apollo website. While the company didn’t mention it this time around, it noted that Apollo Go rides were free when they launched in Cangzhou.

“Baidu Apollo will continue pushing for the commercial application of autonomous driving. With our technology and platform advantages, we will contribute more to the development of autonomous driving and smart transportation in Beijing and support the city to become a world-leading AI innovation hub,” said Zhenyu Li, corporate vice president of Baidu and general manager of Intelligent Driving Group.

Beijing, the technology and innovation center of China, is a strategic location for AI and autonomous driving development. As the first city in China to regulate and open autonomous driving road test zones, Beijing has comprehensive infrastructure and policies to foster high-speed development of the industry.

In 2019, Beijing ranked first in China for numbers of test licenses and vehicle categories, as well as diversity of test scenarios. In addition, Beijing has issued the most stringent safety requirements for manned autonomous driving tests in China to ensure the safety and reliability of the industry.

Baidu started testing its driverless cars in Beijing in December 2019. Its Apollo fleet completed road tests in the capital totaling 519,000 kilometers over the past eight months, earning Baidu permission to open Apollo Go’s services to the general public. According to the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Beijing Autonomous Vehicles Road Test Report, Baidu topped industry peers with the largest fleet of test vehicles, highest total mileage, and most diverse test scenarios.

(SD-Agencies)