Where Can You Order a Robotaxi?
Self-driving cars - in real-world applications as of now limited to robotaxis - are simultaneously very real but also scary to many people as technological and ethical implications around the subject are plentiful. This week, Tesla launched its first small-scale robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, but other than announced used safety drivers. U.S. competitor Waymo, which already operated in Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, added Atlanta to its robotaxi portfolio on Tuesday.
In Chinese cities, it is already somewhat more normal to be able to board a robotaxi as several operators are vying for dominance and have expanded fleets. Apollo Go by Chinese tech company Baidu, one of the larger operators, currently has as many as 1,000 robotaxis on the road in Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and several more. A handful of companies are operating public trials and services in the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. Smaller cities are also being included by some companies and they are often where they launched their first trial services to test in smaller environments with less traffic. While initial trials were often free and even on an application basis, new low fare structures for robotaxis in China have already ruffled feathers with taxi drivers. While Chinese company WeRide is already operating in Abu Dhabi and is conducting non-public tests in San Jose in the United States, Apollo Go has announced plans to expand to Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Many current robotaxis are limited to specific areas, times of day or distances and might have a remote safety operator, who under Chinese law can look after as many as three taxis. Some operations in China also include on-board safety drivers, which are present but are not needed for any specific maneuvers of the vehicle.
A 2023 accidents in San Francisco where a Cruise robotaxi dragged a pedestrian as it failed to carry out an emergency stop has led to parent GM to abandon the project in 2024. A Las Vegas service by Motional was suspended in May of last year.