Baidu Apollo Launches First Automatic Driving Operation Route in Beijing’s Tongzhou District

The launching ceremony for an autonomous driving district was held on Thursday, as Beijing’s Tongzhou District saw the opening of the first of its kind. Baidu Apollo’s autonomous driving service platform “Luobo Kuaipao” officially landed in the district and now provides robotaxi services for the public.

At the ceremony, Tongzhou District’s Communist Party Committee, District Government, municipal organs and Baidu Apollo itself jointly released the automatic driving operation route of Beijing Sub-Administrative Center. The first batch of routes will cover the surrounding areas of the administration area, with a total of 22 stations. The distance from one station to the next is 600 meters, totaling a mileage of over 50 kilometers. At this rate, more than 100 trips could be finished every day.

At present, Baidu Apollo has obtained the first batch of test licenses for autonomous driving roads in Tongzhou District and can carry out test operations on 26 roads with a total length of more than 50 kilometers in the region. Residents near the region can click “Hail Autopilot Taxi” on Baidu Maps app or use Baidu‘s “Apollo Go” app to use it for free.

Beijing is now an innovative demonstration area for China’s intelligent network and autonomous driving industry. Since Tongzhou is part of the coordinated development hub of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Beijing Sub-Administrative Center, the district is promoting the development of a new energy automotive industry and autonomous driving.

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With the promotion of policy and road networks, Baidu Apollo will continue to increase investment in autonomous driving operation services. It is estimated that the number of overall investments in unmanned vehicles will exponentially multiply by 2023.

After 8 years of R&D and practical testing, Baidu Apollo has become a leading open platform for autonomous driving at home and abroad. At present, Luobo Kuaipao has launched robotaxi services in Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha and Cangzhou.

As of the first half of 2021, Luobo Kuaipao has provided services for more than 400,000 passengers, with a test mileage exceeding 14 million kilometers, making it the only Chinese enterprise in the world to realize the accumulation of 10 million kilometers of driving tests.