China Now Has Driverless Taxis

The future is here – driverless taxis are now roaming the streets of Beijing. 

According to a press release from the head office of the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Area, as of Friday, July 7, self-driving taxis are currently operating commercially as part of a testing phase, reports Xinhua. 

The self-driving taxis are regulated under specific policy requirements on the commercialization of self-driving vehicles (self-driving car-hailing services, etc.) as set out by authorities in the Beijing Municipality. 

After showing that all necessary requirements are met, self-driving vehicles will be allowed to operate for commercial purposes within the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Area. 

According to Xinhua, in March of this year, a total of 116 driverless vehicles were tested in Beijing covering a total distance of around 2 million kilometers. Around 1.5 million journeys for commercial purposes were made with positive comments from customers at over 95%.  

The aforementioned Autonomous Driving Demonstration Area is currently limited to a 60-square-kilometer zone in Daxing District. 

The Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Area located in Daxing District. Screengrab via Baidu Maps with edits by That's/Alistair Baker-Brian

However, there are plans to expand the area in which self-driving vehicles can operate to around 500 square kilometers. 

Some individual roads located elsewhere in Beijing have also been designated for the testing of self-driving vehicles, such as one in Shijingshan District announced in June, according to CCTV.

[Cover image via Weibo/@30秒懂车]