The Guangzhou People’s Congress has framed draft rules to further expand the operation of autonomous taxis and buses in the capital city of Guangdong province, aiming to support the development of intelligent transportation in the future. The draft “Regulations on the Innovative Development of Intelligent Internet Connection Vehicles in Guangzhou”, support the use of such vehicles in transportation hubs, including airports, ports and highways, as well as in urban public transportation, and as taxis. Guangzhou will gradually open up more roads for the mixed operation of autonomous and human driving throughout the city, according to the draft regulation. “This will not only help improve transportation efficiency and service quality, but also lay the foundation for the commercialization and popularization of intelligent connected vehicles in the city,” said the draft regulation, which was published on the official website of the Guangzhou People’s Congress. The draft regulation clarifies the safety standards and responsibility for intelligent connected vehicles, requiring relevant enterprises to ensure the operational safety of vehicles, and conduct timely technical analysis and investigation in case of accidents. Companies have been asked to continuously and completely record as well as store vehicle operation data for accident analysis and liability tracing when needed.
In terms of infrastructure, the draft regulation proposes the planning and construction of an integrated vehicle, highway and cloud computing infrastructure, including intelligent roadside facilities, service platforms, communication networks and map management, which are key in supporting the efficient operation of intelligent connected vehicles. The draft rules encourage enterprises, universities and research institutions to conduct research and innovation in key core technologies, such as automotive grade chips, intelligent sensors and autonomous driving algorithms, strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights in the field of intelligent connected vehicles.
According to official statistics, Guangzhou already has self-driving buses and cabs, including 50 buses that are currently operational. The city has opened 10 autonomous driving bus routes in the city’s Huangpu and Haizhu districts. More self-driving vehicles will be put into operation and more autonomous driving bus routes will be opened in the city, which has a population of more than 17 million. Meanwhile, robotaxis from Baidu’s Apollo Go were officially put into use in Guangzhou last month after the company started operations in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. Guangzhou has opened 827 test roads for autonomous driving, including the entire Nansha Port Expressway and the first phase of the Conghua-Huangpu Expressway, covering a one-way length of about 1,666 kilometers, involving six administrative regions and providing a wide range of test scenarios for autonomous vehicles, the China Daily reports.
Meanwhile, BYD, China's leading electric vehicle (EV) maker, and Uber unveiled a multi-year strategic partnership, planning to integrate 100,000 new BYD EVs into the U.S. ride-hailing firm's global fleet and collaborate on future BYD vehicles with autonomous capabilities. This landmark agreement will gradually be phased in across Uber's key global markets such as Europe and Latin America, and expand to the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is expected to reduce overall EV ownership costs for Uber drivers, accelerating EV adoption on the Uber platform worldwide.
