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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Business -> 
Baidu gets nod for full driverless taxis
    2022-08-09  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

CHINA’S search engine giant Baidu Inc. said yesterday it has obtained permits to operate fully driverless robotaxi services on open roads from two Chinese cities, the first of their kind in the country.

The permits, giving Baidu an edge over rivals like Pony.ai Inc. and XPeng Inc., were awarded by the southwestern municipality of Chongqing and the central city of Wuhan and allow commercial robotaxis to offer rides to the public without human safety drivers in the car.

The move marks a relaxation of Chinese rules, which previously mandated someone must be in the vehicle to take control in case of an emergency. Baidu said they marked a “turning point” in China’s policy-making towards autonomous driving.

“These permits have deep significance for the industry,” said Wei Dong, chief safety operation officer of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group. “If we think of the exploration of space, this moment is equal to landing on the moon.”

Baidu will begin to provide fully driverless robotaxi services in designated areas in Wuhan between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Chongqing from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with five fee-charging Apollo fifth generation robotaxis operating in each city, the company said in a statement.

The service area covers 13 square kilometers in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone, and 30 square kilometers in Chongqing’s Yongchuan District.

The firm will work with regulators in cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to secure licenses within a year to test fully-driverless and unpaid robotaxis in those cities, said Wei.

In April, Baidu’s Apollo and Toyota Motor Corp.-backed Pony.ai said that they received permits in Beijing to deploy robotaxis without safety drivers in the driver’s seat on open roads within a 60-square-kilometer area. But the Beijing permits still require them to have a safety driver in the passenger seat.

China’s efforts to fast-track autonomous vehicle trials and permits come as U.S. regulators are also pushing ahead with milestone-setting autonomous driving policies.

In January, self-driving company Cruise received a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission that allows it to offer paid and fully driverless rides from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in select streets in San Francisco. But the General Motors Co.-backed startup is now facing regulatory scrutiny after two on-road incidents, including an accident that left two people with minor injuries.

Apollo Go, Baidu’s robotaxi service, has operated over 1 million rides across 10 Chinese cities since its launch in 2020. Baidu has not reported any problems with the service and has not given a breakdown for how much it has invested in the project.

Baidu, which operated China’s largest search engine, is transitioning to artificial intelligence and self-driving cars after its core advertising revenue shrank in the mobile era. Its smart-driving business provides software to carmakers like Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and runs a ride-hailing app powered by a fleet of self-driving cars in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai. (SD-Agencies)

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