Even in those regions of the planet where local authorities have agreed with companies to test driverless taxis, the area of their use is usually limited to certain areas of selected cities. Authorities in several regions in southern China have achieved a breakthrough in cooperation in this regard by launching an experiment to test driverless taxis on intercity highways.
Image source: Baidu
The pilot experiment, as the South China Morning Post clarifies, was launched under the auspices of the authorities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hengqin Island. According to officials, the four companies participating in the experiment will be able to use uniform rules for operating unmanned taxis in a number of territories in the southern part of China, which will be able to ply intercity routes. The startup Pony.ai, Baidu-owned Apollo Go, the aggregator Chenqi Technology (supported by Tencent and GAC), and the startup Cowa Robot, which creates automated vehicles, including taxis, will test their vehicles as part of the experiment.
If successful, the experiment will expand to the so-called Greater Bay Area, which covers nine cities in southern China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau, which are special administrative regions. At the very least, Pony.ai eventually plans to offer its self-driving taxi service in Hong Kong and Macau. Baidu launched its Apollo Go driverless taxis in the Hong Kong airport area in October this year, but on a limited number of routes. The test mode implies the presence of an insuring driver behind the wheel, who can take over control in case of danger. As part of the new program, Pony.ai expects to test its unmanned taxis for transporting passengers between train stations and airports in different cities, as well as launch unmanned cargo transportation on intercity routes.