Baidu has opened its Apollo Go automated taxi service in Cangzhou, Hebei province, making the city the first in China to use Robotaxi in the downtown area.
This is also the second city where Apollo has gone live with a regular taxi service, following the full opening in Changsha in April this year.
It means that Apollo is accelerating its deployment and Baidu's unmanned vehicle service Apollo Go is entering a new phase of multi-location operation.
Residents of Cangzhou can call for free rides through Baidu Maps with one click.
The service is jointly operated by Apollo and its eco-partner Yuntu Technology.
The service will cover the core areas of Cangzhou such as high-speed rail stations, schools, star hotels, museums, industrial parks, etc. There are currently a total of 55 drop-off and pick-up stations.
Baidu says its Apollo autonomous driving platform now has 178 partners
Apollo is the first attempt to make Robotaxi service penetrate into the public areas of the city, such as high-speed rail stations and star-rated hotels, and enter into the mainstream life scenes of more ordinary users.
At present, besides Changsha and Cangzhou, Apollo has also carried out manned tests in Beijing, Chongqing and Yangquan.
