On Tuesday, the self-driving car startup Pony.ai announced that it partnered with ride-hailing company Caocao to provide robotaxi services in Beijing.
Starting from Wednesday, public passengers will have the option to choose Pony.ai’s custom-made test models of robotaxi from the Caocao app on their phones. However, the robotaxis fleet of 30 or so will be restricted to a designated area in southern Beijing. A safety driver behind the wheel is not required, but each car will have a monitor in a passenger seat.
There is an RMB 18 base fare for all rides, and longer routes will cost RMB 3 per kilometer beyond three kilometers during rush hours and RMB 2.6 during off-peak hours. By comparison, local ride-hailing services usually have a base fare of RMB 14 per ride and RMB 1.8 per kilometer over three kilometers.
In April, Pony.ai and Baidu received permits from the Beijing city authorities to offer driverless rides in an area of 60 square kilometers in the city’s southeast Yizhuang district. The local government allowed the two companies to charge fares last November.
