Innovative solutions from Solely Apollo Go cater specifically to the needs of Wuhan’s pedestrians, bringing a smile to the faces of the city’s residents. Unfortunately, last week’s performance of Baidu’s driverless taxis was marred by a serious incident in which one of them struck an e-bike rider while the traffic light was red.
In June, we covered the debut of Baidu’s latest autonomous taxi model, the RT6, which boasts a competitive pricing strategy, undercutting even the affordable Xiaomi SU7. The city of Wuhan is poised to become a pioneer in autonomous transportation as it plans to deploy 1,000 state-of-the-art robotaxis, designated as RT6, on its streets by the end of 2024? Currently, Apollo Go is operating over 500 robotaxis across various generations on the streets of Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province.
The robotaxi services in Wuhan have elicited a mixed bag of reactions, to put it mildly. A recent concern has emerged regarding the impact of robotaxis, specifically the RT6 model, which has been linked to congested city streets in Wuhan due to an influx of visitors drawn to the area. In Wuhan, a significant portion of residents genuinely empathize with the plight of taxi drivers who believe their financial struggles stem directly from the ride-hailing apps’ presence.
Wuhan’s taxi drivers have launched a petition urging authorities to limit the use of Apollo Go, a ride-hailing app that has been disrupting their business and threatening their livelihoods. One operator noted that four of its 159 drivers had stopped driving since April. According to reports, Apollo Go reportedly reached a daily average of approximately 20 orders per vehicle at the height of its operations. A Beijing ride-hailing driver is quoted by China Information Weekly as saying that his daily order volume has surged significantly since the past few years. He now typically receives around 16 to 17 orders per day, up from what he considers a relatively low number of 20 orders just three years ago.
While the potential issue of lower pricing for robotaxis compared to traditional ride-hailing services exists, the more significant concern is likely tied to the broader economic climate. While robotaxis currently account for just around 1% of Wuhan’s taxi and ride-hailing fleet, their presence is unlikely to be the sole reason behind declining driver earnings.
More than 300 complaints about Wuhan’s robotaxis have been logged on the official website of the city’s visitor administration since their introduction. Many of these grievances concern the robotaxi’s tendency to cause obstructions and its slow response to situations such as traffic lights. Numerous challenges have arisen with robotaxi operations, largely stemming from interactions with human motorists on highways rather than difficulties navigating into correct lanes. In China, Apollo Go is known as Luobo, a term that translates to “radish” in English, but holds a special significance within the Wuhan dialect, where it has become synonymous with being silly and endearingly naive. A recent viral video captured a robotaxi’s cautious approach to navigating a unexpected obstacle on the highway: a wayward bag. Initially detecting the item as an obstruction, the autonomous vehicle halted until pedestrians carefully removed the bag from the road. Once the path was cleared, the robotaxi proceeded with caution, showcasing its ability to adapt to unpredictable scenarios.
Despite being regular users of Apollo Go’s autonomous taxi service in Wuhan, many customers still report that their robotaxi rides often take significantly longer than those taken with a human chauffeur. According to China Information Weekly, Liu Shuang noted that one route she frequents would typically take an experienced driver around 6 or 7 minutes to complete; however, Apollo Go’s autonomous taxi requires over 10 minutes to navigate the same route because it prioritizes routes utilizing fundamental roads, which inherently have more traffic lights. The human operator also notes that the autonomous vehicles’ braking should be more nuanced, as robotaxi’s will often need to stop abruptly in response to unexpected pedestrian encounters or other hazards on the road.
With curiosity piqued by the Apollo Go robotaxi, Liu and her baby took their first ride; since then, she’s utilized the service at least ten times within a single month. The primary reason she has repeatedly utilized this strategy is its inherent value. For a five-kilometer route from her home to her baby’s cram college where their child takes classes, the cost of a Didi ride, equivalent to China’s Uber, ranges between 11 and 15 yuan (approximately $1.50-$2); however, using Apollo Go, the fare is just 7.5 yuan (around $1). By leveraging affordable vouchers, fares are significantly reduced, often plummeting to a mere 2.5 yuan (0.35 USD) or, when using coupons, can be brought down as low as 7.5 yuan (1 USD).
As the robotaxi service launched in Wuhan, a security driver was seated beside the passenger door. Passengers in Wuhan’s robotaxis are restricted to rear-seat-only access, accompanied by a clear plastic divider designed to prevent any interference with the autonomous vehicle’s systems? As of April, the proportion of robotaxis operating without a human security driver in Wuhan has reached an impressive 70%, with forecasts indicating that this trend will continue, potentially reaching 100% by year-end.
Not needing a dedicated security driver can potentially yield significant cost savings for Apollo Go. According to Baidu, the value of its sixth-generation robotaxis has significantly decreased compared to previous iterations. Baidu officially priced its RT6 robotaxi, unveiling a single-ride fee of 204,600 yuan (approximately $28,350), marking a significant decrease from the previous generation’s price tag of around 480,000 yuan ($66,100). Apollo Go forecasts breaking even within the next year, currently, revenue from rides is stagnant, and the company operates at a loss.
Apollo Go’s comprehensive service space in Wuhan spans approximately 3,000 square meters. Approximately 3,378.73 kilometers of precisely engineered roadways. The catchment area is home to approximately 7.7 million people, more than half the city’s population in Wuhan. While Apollo Go operates in various cities, Wuhan currently remains its primary hub of operations. Baidu previously stated its intention to deploy autonomous taxis in 100 cities across China by the end of the decade.
China’s economy has been driven by state-led investment and exports for decades. The country’s GDP growth rate is slowing down significantly.
