Baidu Launches Apollo Go Robotaxi Service in Beijing Apollo Park

Baidu on Sept. 10 launched the Apollo Go Robotaxi service in Apollo Park in Beijing, covering nearly 100 pick-up and drop-off stations in Yizhuang, Haidian and Shunyi districts.

As the first company to provide robotaxi services in Beijing, Baidu this time launched 40 vehicles. The service encompasses the largest total area and longest road network of about 700 km for a manned autonomous driving test area in China. 

China’s first mass-produced L4 auto-driving passenger vehicle Hongqi EV was jointly developed by Baidu and Chinese car manufacturer FAW in August 2019 and it obtained 5 Beijing autonomous driving road test licenses. 

Baidu Apollo in December 2019 claimed 40 of the first batch of manned autonomous driving test licenses issued by the Beijing government. 

After 8 months of small-scaled manned testing, the Apollo robotaxi fleet completed road tests covering 519,000 km in the city and was permitted to introduce the service to the public. 

SEE ALSO:Baidu Apollo Go Robotaxi Service Seeks Passenger Trials in Beijing

The company previously opened its Apollo Go services to the public in cities including Changsha and Cangzhou, where users can hail robotaxis at multiple locations on Baidu Maps. 

Users in Beijing can register for the manned Apollo Go ride experience on Baidu Maps or the Apollo website for free. 

“Baidu Apollo will continue pushing for the commercial application of autonomous driving” said Zhengyu Li, Corporate Vice President of Baidu, even though Apollo Go in Beijing is currently a non-profit service.