Toyota-backed driverless robotaxis to hit the streets of Beijing

The general public in southeastern Beijing will soon be able to enjoy the epitome of high-tech travel as a new fleet of driverless "robotaxis" has been cleared for use in the city. 

Developed and operated by Chinese-American firm Pony.ai, a fleet of 20 taxis has been cleared for use in a trial run in a 60 sq km (23.1 sq m) region of China's second-most-populous city.

This area of the city is home to some 300,000 people, any of whom could hail one of these taxis through the PonyPilot+ app at any time between 9 am and 5 pm. More importantly, the ride is free for anyone who wishes to take part.

The taxis will offer a choice of pre-determined drop-off locations, including stadiums, stations, parks and central business centres.

Its most prevalent model, the PonyAlphaX, was formed in partnership with state-owned automaker FAW Group. However, its tech has been fitted into non-Chinese models such as Lexus.

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“Pony.ai’s approval to operate driverless robotaxis in Beijing is a critical milestone in the transition from testing autonomous mobility to offering driverless robotaxi rides to the public,” said James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai.

Pony obtained its licence for autonomous travel in October 2021, and since then has conducted a number of safety tests to minimise the chance of encounters on the roads. For the pilot, a safety supervisor will sit in the front seat and intervene if necessary.

The firm also operates a run of manned robotaxis, which offers fee-based travel for users, which it has been operating since November 2021.

It claims the process of obtaining its permit to operate was stringent and involved a number of safety test qualifications involving driverless navigation of unprotected left-turns, temporary construction zones, smog, heavy rain and snow conditions, driver mileage, being tested on the number of orders received.

Pony began its driverless testing in Guangzhou in June 2021, where it claims it became the first robotaxi operator cleared for use in China and has been partnered with local government-backed taxi group Baiyun since 2019. It also obtained a permit for the use of driverless trucks in the city back in December.

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The startup's other co-founder and CTO, Tiancheng Lou, claims the firm has rigorously tested the "technical quality" of its systems "by successfully handling a wide range of extreme and complex scenarios".

"We did this by conducting multiple technical validations and iterations of driverless scenarios, and by improving system redundancy design, remote assistance platform development and fleet operation management,” he added.

Since its founding in 2016, it has driven a total of 11 km (6.8 million miles) globally, with around 200,000 km (124,000 miles) being driverless.

It styles itself as a global leader in autonomous mobility - self-driving vehicles - and has forged relationships with several large automakers, such as Toyota, FAW Group, GAC Group, and others.

Read more: Germany approves Mercedes-Benz semi-autonomous driving system

Back in January, the firm fitted a Toyota Sienna with its autonomous tech, styling it as its "sixth-generation" of cars.

In its latest round of funding, it secured roughly $8.5 billion from silicon valley investors, which indicates their faith in Pony.

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