Self-driving robotaxi crosses Yangtze River in Wuhan

A self-driving vehicle developed by Chinese tech heavyweight Baidu Inc has crossed two bridges over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, making the city China's first to carry out commercial autonomous ride-hailing services spanning across the river.

Baidu said the successful traverse will expand the scope and scale of autonomous driving services while offering more transportation options for residents in Wuhan.

So far, more than 20 cities nationwide, including Beijing; Shanghai; Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong province; and Wuhan, Hubei province, have launched policies supporting autonomous driving tests, with over 60 enterprises having obtained self-driving test licenses.

Wuhan is stepping up efforts to promote the development of intelligent connected vehicles and commercialization of self-driving technology. Currently, the city has registered over 680,000 orders of travel services provided by Baidu's autonomous driving vehicles, and the number of robotaxis reached more than 300. 

Apollo Go, Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, has obtained more than 5,000 autonomous driving patents, with the total testing mileage of its self-driving vehicles exceeding 90 million kilometers. 

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn