Earlier this week, WeRide announced that its autonomous technology enabled minibus was the first to officially obtain the road test license in Beijing. The bus is equipped with L4 self driving technology and is a major milestone for the brand.

As per official notes, the company’s unmanned minibus can be driven on public roads with autonomously in Beijing. The region of its license specifies a total area of 60 square kilometers. Unlike certain minibuses that still feature a steering wheel, the WeRide is a completely unmanned shuttle bus that has no built in steering wheel, no brakes, and no driver’s cockpit. In other words, the license signifies that the minibus’ autonomous technology is capable of safely operating on actual roads in Beijing.

Furthermore, the company has also reached the mass production levels for this design of its minibus. Notably, this is the first time that a high level autonomous vehicle was approved for the road test license in Beijing. In other words, this is also the first time that an unmanned L4 grade self driving behicle will be legally driven on the road in the city. WeRide’s shuttle bus will be run purely on electric power.

The WeRide minibus offers a maximum speed of 40 km/h and can be flexibly deployed in various kinds of public or closed traffic scenarios. These EVs can also operate on urban open roads around the clock. So now, the minibusses will follow the company’s existing fleet of self driving taxis and is currently available in Guangzhou, Beijing , Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wuxi, Boao, Riyadh and other cities.

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The Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide has recently announced that it has officially begun unmanned minibus Robobus service at Guangzhou International Bio Island. However, different from the electric autonomous vehicles till now, this minibus gets rid of all traditional controls like the steering wheels, throttles, or brakes pedals.

According to a report by Pandaily, WeRide has officially begun operations of their unmanned Robobus service at Guangzhou International Bio Island. WeRide has introduced the new service after two years of successful operations of their Robotaxi commercial service (China’s first) in the region.

The Robobus is a pure electric vehicle and has a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour. It can achieve safe and stable unmanned driving services along urban roads, expressways, and tunnels in rush hours and under inclement weather conditions.

After thorough research and investigation of the daily traffic on Guangzhou International Bio Island, Robobus has opened two operating routes in its first phase and will further offer services throughout the entire island.

Robobus operates 7 days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday however, the bus operates from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Additionally, Passengers can view real-time locations and the running status of the vehicles on their “WeRide Go” app.

Robobus vehicles will initially have volunteers who will help first-time passengers to understand and familiarize themselves with the autonomous vehicle’s workings. And WeRide support center will monitor the vehicles in real-time. The bus also has a brake button located inside for emergency situations.

The concept of the pure electric Robobus seems genuinely intriguing and is sure to be a better, eco-friendly alternative to fossil fule based public travel. However, the absence of manual controls is a bold step by the company and thus WeRide will have to uphold high safety standards to gain public trust.

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