Baidu Robotaxis does not need any human staff in these parts of China

Beijing – Chinese Technology Corporation Baidu On Monday, it said it had become the first operator of taxi robots in China to obtain permits to sell rides with no human driver or employee inside the vehicles.

Local government approvals allow Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi business to eliminate the cost of human personnel in some cases.

The initial size of the permits is small: 10 motorized cars are divided between two suburban areas in Wuhan and Chongqing, two major Chinese cities.

In April, Baidu and its rival Pony.ai obtained approval from a suburb of Beijing Automated axle operation without a human driver. But the Chinese capital still requires staff to sit in robots with passengers.

Municipal authorities across China issued An increasing number of permits Last year robotaxi companies were allowed to operate and Shipping costs in selected regions.

In the United States, the alphabet Waymo And the General motorsThe Cruise subsidiary can actually operate public robots without human personnel in the vehicles. Laws for testing robots and charging riders vary by city and state.

Baidu claimed to have received more than 1 million orders for ride-on robots. In the first three months of the year, the company said it operated 196,000 flights. Baidu is scheduled to release second-quarter results on August 30.