CHINESE Internet search giant Baidu Inc. officially opened Apollo Go Robotaxi, its self-driving taxi service, to the public in Beijing, becoming the first company to carry passengers in autonomous vehicles in the capital.

With a fleet of 40 vehicles, the service covers the largest total area and the longest road network of about 700 kilometers for an autonomous driving test area in China. It has established nearly 100 pickup and drop-off stations in residential and business areas in the Yizhuang area, Haidian and Shunyi districts of Beijing.

Passengers in Beijing can now hail autonomous cabs free of charge via Baidu Maps or Apollo Go apps without advance reservation.

The move came after the Beijing-based tech giant opened its robotaxi service to the public in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, in August, expanding robotaxi coverage to the downtown area of a city for the first time in China.

In April, Baidu opened its self-driving taxi service in Changsha, Hunan Province. Robotaxi provides free rides to passengers across an area of 130 square kilometers.

As the first city in China to regulate and open autonomous driving road test zones, Beijing has comprehensive infrastructure and policies to foster the development of the industry.

Last year, Beijing ranked first in China for the number 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.

The self-driving technology is expected to witness large-scale commercial application in the next five years, said Robin Li, chairman and CEO of Baidu. 

(China Daily)