Pony.ai, the world’s leading autonomous driving technology startup that operates the robotaxi, said it has become China’s first and only autonomous driving (AD) taxi company.
The robotaxi startup firm has been granted permission to operate 100 self-driving vehicles as taxis in Nansha, Guangzhou, the company said in a statement. The autonomous driving company plans to begin charging fees throughout Nansha’s whole 800 square kilometers with 100 robotaxis in May, with the goal of progressively expanding the volume and scope of service to other districts of Guangzhou to serve more inhabitants.
Passengers may use the PonyPilot+ App to hail rides and pay for them. The robotaxis will run during the day and at night, with service hours ranging from 8:30 to 22:30 and charges based on Guangzhou taxi rates.
While a safety driver is presently present on the Pony.ai robotaxi, the startup business plans to eliminate the driver soon.
The recent development marks the official launch of AD mobility services in Guangzhou, equivalent to traditional taxi and ride-hailing platforms.
Pony.ai is currently the only firm permitted for AD commercialization services in two Tier-1 cities in China, thanks to the robotaxi fee-charging authorization granted in Beijing in November 2021. The startup also plans to expand its commercialized robotaxi footprint to the other two Tier-1 cities in China next year.
The company also eyes additional cities where they can operate after Pony.ai’s broad commercialization in 2024/2025, after successful commercialization in Beijing and Guangzhou. Pony.ai is now testing and operating autonomous vehicles in all four of China’s Tier-1 cities, as well as in California.
Pony.ai had to pass a series of safety and other multifaceted vehicle qualification tests by national inspection institutions, including at least 24 months of AD testing in China and/or other countries.
It also needs to hurdle at least 1 million kilometers of testing mileage, at least 200,000 kilometers of AD testing within Guangzhou’s designated test area, and no active liability traffic accidents.
Pony.ai is the first and only self-driving car startup to meet all of these criteria and standards.
James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai. said:
“Being China’s first autonomous vehicle company to receive a taxi license is a testament to Pony.ai’s technological strength and ability to operate robotaxi services. We will expand the scale of our services, provide quality travel experiences to the public in Guangzhou, create an industry benchmark for robotaxi services and continue to lead the commercialization of robotaxis and robotrucks.”
Tiancheng Lou, co-founder, and CTO of Pony.ai. said:
“The inclusion of autonomous vehicles in the unified and standardized management of taxis proves that both government policy and the public are increasingly accepting robotaxis as a form of everyday transportation, recognizing the ride experience and technical stability of Pony.ai’s robotaxi.”
The Fremont, California-based startup Pony.ai has also consistently refined and upgraded all areas of the user experience of robotaxi services since the debut of its robotaxi app in December 2018 through the commercialization of robotaxi services in both Beijing and Guangzhou.
To date, Robotaxi service had completed over 700,000 orders as of mid-April 2022, with approximately 80% of customers returning and 99 percent of passengers leaving good feedback following their travels – resulting in a service satisfaction rating of 4.9 on a 5-point scale.
Read More Stories: France’s Emmanuel Macron wins Re-Election Against Far-Right Rival