Guangzhou sees self-driving cars to run with manned cars on road

Guangzhou will launch a pilot plan allowing self-driving cars to run on the road with human-driving cars at the same time, according to two policy documents released on July 14, 2021.

WeRide's autonomous vehicles (Photo: Monica/GDToday)

The city will carry out the pilot in Nansha and Huangpu Districts firstly. In an earlier stage, it mainly launched passenger and cargo transport activities with taxis, online car-hailing, and buses. In the following period, the city will experiment other traffic such as urban intelligent sanitation, express delivery and postal services.

Huadu District will also soon follow the pilot plan to carry a trial pilot of intelligent connected vehicles (ICV).

Up to now, the total accumulated safe mileage of road test by Guangzhou's self-driving enterprises has been 2.55million kilometers without an accident occurring.

A Turing Test driving event was held on the normally operated Yuejiang Xi Road in downtown Guangzhou on that day. Participants took vehicles to experience both autonomous and manned driving on three sections of road without knowing "who" was driving the car.

Waiting for a green light, letting pedestrians go first, making a U-turn, the car ran stably and flexibly throughout the whole journey, no different from the manned ones, according to a participant.

A self-driving taxi rides on Yuejiang Xi Road in Guangzhou during the Turing Test driving event on July 14, 2021. (Photo: Li Zhanjun/Southern Metropolis Daily)

First L4 demonstration route for self-driving trucks

China's e-commerce giant JD and autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai jointly launched the first Level 4 demonstration operation route for self-driving trucks in Guangzhou on the same day. Pony.ai received the first self-driving truck test license in December 2020, and obtained a permit to operate freight on the road in April, 2021.

Priority of passenger safety

The trial pilot attaches great importance to the security of road traffic and personal property. New types of insurance for self-driving cars will be set up to ensure the safety of the public. In addition, funds for self-driving car operations will also be set up to provide assistance to anyone injured.

Autonomous vehicles attending the Turing Test driving event on July 14, 2021. (Photo: Monica/GDToday)

Eligibility for launching automatic driving

Guangzhou enjoys industrial advantages. So far, it has introduced a series of leading self-driving enterprises, including Pony. ai, WeRide and Baidun Apollo, who have mature self-driving technologies.

Since December 2019, the city has launched a trial operation of self-driving taxis, with a cumulative operating mileage of nearly 1 million kilometers and nearly 100,000 service trips as well as no liability accidents. In 2020, a total of 5 self-driving companies carried out trial pilots of self-driving cars with their 71 cars and a cumulative mileage up to 70,000 kilometers.

Moreover, those self-driving enterprises also have practical experience during the resurgence of COVD-19 in Guangzhou in May this year. They participated in the delivery of supplies to blockaded areas with over 20 cars and more than 30 unmanned express cars, express delivering up to 260 tons of supplies.

Author | Nancy (intern)

Editor | Olivia, Monica & Jerry