Attracting attention as they navigate through buildings and shopping centers, driverless taxis are slowly spreading across many cities in China, surprising and alarming many.
Chinese technology companies and automakers have poured billions of dollars into self-driving technology in recent years to catch up with the leading names in the industry in the United States, according to AFP. Currently, Wuhan boasts one of the largest self-driving taxi networks in the world, with a fleet of over 500 taxis available for booking via an app.
At an intersection in Wuhan’s industrial zone, at least five driverless taxis cross paths while navigating through regular traffic. A local resident, known as Yang, described the scene as a science fiction movie, but not everyone shares Yang’s enthusiasm. Concerns about the safety of driverless taxis emerged in April when an Aito vehicle, developed with investment from Huawei, was involved in a fatal accident due to a malfunction in its automatic braking system. A minor collision between a careless pedestrian and a driverless taxi in Wuhan last month further fueled these concerns. Traditional taxi drivers are also worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence, even though the technology is still far from being fully developed.
The view from the back seat of a driverless taxi. (Photo: AFP).
From 5 to 500
The driverless taxis in Wuhan are part of Baidu’s Apollo Go project, which first received operational permits in the city in 2022. Initially, there were only 5 driverless taxis transporting passengers around 13 square kilometers in the 14 million-population city. Currently, Baidu reports that driverless taxis operate across an area of 3,000 square kilometers, more than one-third of Wuhan’s total area, including a small part of the city center. In comparison, Waymo, the leading company in the U.S., has the largest operational area of 816 square kilometers in Arizona.
When the vehicle arrives at the pickup point, passengers scan a QR code using their phone to open the car door, but the front seat is blocked for safety reasons. Prices are currently significantly reduced, with a 30-minute ride costing just $5.43, nearly half the fare of a regular taxi. Deng Haibing, a taxi driver in Wuhan, fears that self-driving taxi companies will push traditional drivers out of the industry through price cuts, followed by price increases once they dominate the market. “Right now, the impact isn’t too significant since driverless taxis are not very popular and can’t operate everywhere yet,” Deng stated.
Simple but Not Ready
The number of self-driving cars is still a very small fraction of the tens of thousands of taxis in Wuhan. Increasingly, cities across China are implementing policies to encourage self-driving services. Baidu and its competitor Pony.ai have been testing various levels of automation for many years in industrial zones throughout the country. Shanghai granted licenses for fully autonomous vehicles last month, and the capital city of Beijing has approved the use of driverless cars in suburban areas. The southwestern city of Chongqing and the tech hub of Shenzhen in the south are also conducting several pilot projects.
According to Tom Nunlist, a public technology policy analyst at Trivium China, there is still a long way to go before driverless taxis become mainstream. Even with Apollo Go taxis in Wuhan, which can detect obstacles and stop at intersections, the ultimate safety responsibility still rests with the remote monitoring staff. Driverless taxis are still far from replacing human drivers. “Some passengers with disabilities clearly cannot be assisted by driverless cars. Additionally, some passengers carry bulky luggage,” shared driver Zhao.
