Baidu and Pony.ai are two Chinese companies that have been blazing the trail in their various segments over the years. The two companies have now reached another milestone in China with their acquisition of commercial driverless robotaxi permits. They are the first companies to be issued permits to provide driverless ride-hailing services on open roads in Beijing. Previous permits relate to testing the self-driving vehicles without a safety driver in the vehicle.
China has seen a raft of self-driving services in several cities across the country. This is however the first time that any company will be allowed to run a fully driverless service on public roads. The permit however requires a safety operator in the front of the autonomous vehicle, unlike what obtains in California. The new permits to internet giant Baidu and autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai seem to be a further step in the evolution of driverless car-hailing. Both companies will not be collecting payments for the service.
Baidu and Pony.ai are currently running commercial robotaxis with a safety driver in the Beijing High-Level Automated Driving Demonstration Area (BJHAD). This is an area of about 60 sq. km with up to 300,000 residents. The two companies have said that the new service will run within the BJHAD. Ten and four driverless vehicles will be deployed for the new service by Baidu and Pony.ai respectively. Baidu already has up to 100 vehicles in its Apollo Go fleet in the area. The time for the service is 10 am-4 pm for Baidu and 9 am-5 pm for Pony.ai. Users can use the respective apps to hail the service and hundreds of drop-off/pickup locations will be on the route.
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