Autonomous Taxis: Pony.ai Receives Its License in China

100 robotaxis will soon be put into service in the city of Guangzhou.

Pony.ai, which is supported among others by Toyota, has just become the first company to obtain a license for an autonomous taxi service in China. With this license, the Chinese startup will be able to operate 100 robotaxis in Guangzhou, in an area covering 800 km2.

Not more expensive than traditional taxis

Autonomous taxis will be launched in May. They will operate both day and night, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Customers will book them via a dedicated app. Prices will be comparable to those of traditional taxis.

There will definitely be a “driver” on board, but only to intervene in case of danger. Pony.ai also estimates that it may no longer be necessary to have a person behind the wheel in the short or medium term.

Before granting such authorization, Guangzhou authorities established a very specific set of requirements. For example, Pony.ai had to prove that its system had been tested for at least 24 months and that it had not caused any accidents. The vehicles used for testing also needed to have traveled at least 1 million kilometers, including at least 200,000 in the area where the service will be deployed.

A proven technology

“The arrival of autonomous vehicles into the standardized taxi circuit proves that political authorities and the public are increasingly accepting robotaxis as a daily means of transportation”, cheered Tiancheng Lou, co-founder and CTO of Pony.ai.

Before obtaining this license, Pony.ai had already tested its taxis in 3 Chinese cities and in California. The company has been experimenting with a commercial service in Beijing for several months. To date, 700,000 people have already ordered a Pony.ai robotaxi, and 99% of them reportedly expressed satisfaction with the service.

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