China's Baidu Granted a Permit to Collect Fares From Passengers Using its Fully-Autonomous ‘Apollo Go' Robotaxi Service in Beijing
【Summary】China’s Baidu Inc announced that it was granted a service permit for Beijing's newly-launched zone for autonomous driving commercial services, which allows the company to charge for rides in its fully-autonomous ride-hailing vehicles. It marks the first-ever commercial deployment on open roads in Beijing, as Baidu moves closer to large-scale commercial operation of its "Apollo Go" robotaxi service.

China's Baidu Inc announced that it was granted a service permit for Beijing's newly-launched zone for autonomous driving commercial services, which allows the company to charge for rides in its fully-autonomous ride-hailing vehicles. The autonomous commercial services zone in Beijing is the first such zone established in China.
Baidu's robotaxi service is called Apollo Go. Being able to charge for rides in completely autonomous vehicles marks first-ever commercial deployment on open roads in Beijing, as Baidu moves closer to large-scale commercial operation of Apollo Go. Baidu also said it received over 400 other autonomous driving permits in China to scale the service.
The Apollo Go vehicles developed by Baidu are designed to operate completely autonomous, with no safety drivers on board.
Since the Apollo Go vehicles do not have safety drivers on board, they are backed up with a 5G-powered "Remote Driving Service". It allows a human operator to take over control of the vehicle remotely in the event the software encounters any unexpected obstacles during the trip, such as a stalled vehicle or lane closure due to construction.
The Remote Driving Service also provides additional peace of mind for passengers that may be hesitant about riding in a completely driverless vehicle.
The autonomous vehicle commercial permit was granted by the head office of the Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area (BJHAD). It allows Baidu to collect fares within the designated area.
The Apollo Go service is available to the public seven days a week, from 7am to 10pm. By using the Apollo Go smartphone app, users can locate one of 67 fully-autonomous vehicles in the area to hail a ride.
The robotaxi service area covers 60 square kilometers in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone. The service includes over 600 pick-up and drop-off points in both commercial and residential areas.
A fully-autonomous "Apollo Go" robotaxi can be summoned using a smartphone app in Beijing.
Baidu is investing heavily in autonomous driving and related technologies to support the rollout of an autonomous mobility ecosystem in China, which includes self driving technology for passenger vehicles and multi-passenger shuttles.
In June, Baidu revealed an electric robotaxi vehicle called "Apollo Moon" that will eventually be used in the expanding Apollo Go service. At the time, Baidu said the Apollo Moon EVs are a "monumental milestone in the large-scale commercialization of fully autonomous ride-hailing services in China."
Baidu plans to deploy 1,000 Apollo Moon robotaxis over the next three years in China.
Apollo Go is still in the initial stages of expansion. Baidu says it will continue to add autonomous vehicles to the fleet and expand the coverage area to meet the needs of local commuters. The autonomous ride-hailing service marks the beginnings of the rapid development of commercialized autonomous driving in China.
Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service now operates in Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, Cangzhou, and Shanghai.
In the third quarter of 2021, Baidu's Apollo Go provided 115,000 rides, which made it the largest robotaxi service provider in the world, Baidu CEO, Robin Li, said in an earnings call last week.
As of September, the Apollo fleet of L4 autonomous vehicles accumulated over 10 million test miles on public roads, an increase of 189% year over year.
Baidu plans to expand Apollo Go operations into 65 cities across China by 2025 and 100 cities by 2030.
In April, global consulting firm Guidehouse named Baidu as one of the "top ten autonomous driving developers in the world." Others include Alphabet Inc's division Waymo, which spun out of Google's self-driving car project, and San Francisco-based Cruise, the autonomous driving unit of automaker General Motors.
-
Ford is Testing a New Robotic Charging Station to Assist Drivers of EVs With Disabilities
-
Ford Raises the Prices of the F-150 Lightning Electric Pickup Due to Rising Raw Material Costs
-
The BMW 7-Series to Feature HD Live Maps From HERE Technologies for Hands-Free Highway Driving in North America at Speeds up to 80 MPH
-
AutoX to Use the 'Eyeonic Vision Sensor' from California-based SiLC Technologies for its Robotaxi Fleet in China
-
LG Develops ‘Invisible’ Speaker Sound Technology That Could Revolutionize In-Vehicle Audio
-
Researchers at South Korea’s Chung-Ang University Develop a ‘Meta-Reinforcement’ Machine Learning Algorithm for Traffic Lights to Improve Vehicle Throughput
-
Zeekr’s New 009 Electric Passenger Van is the World’s First EV to Feature CATL’s Advanced ‘Qilin’ Battery With a Range of 510 Miles
-
Redwood Materials is Building an Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Facility in South Carolina
- Hyundai Gets Serious About Electric Performance Cars, Shows off Two Concepts
- US-listed LiDAR Developers Velodyne and Ouster to Merge in an All-Stock Deal
- China’s New Intelligent EV company JIDU Launches its Limited-Edition Robocar Called the ‘ROBO-01 Lunar Edition’
- Lucid Launches New Performance Brand ‘Sapphire’ with a 1,200 Horsepower, Tri-Motor Version of the Lucid Air Sedan
- Urban Air Mobility Company Backed by Electric Automaker XPeng Inc Begins Trail Production of its Voyager X2 ‘Flying Car’
- Volkswagen Group of America President and CEO is Appointed to Lead the Automaker's New Electric Off-Road Truck Division ‘Scout’
- EV Brand Polestar Announces $1.6 Billion in New Financing as its Stock Price Falls Below $5
- Ford Motor Co Selects its Plant in Spain to Build 'Breakthrough' EVs for the European Market on a Next-Gen Architecture
- China’s CATL to Supply Honda with 123 GWh of Electric Vehicle Batteries by 2030
- Electric Hypercar Developer Rimac Raises $500 Million Euro in Series D Round, Investors Include Porsche, Softbank and Goldman Sachs