WeRide has received the necessary notice from the Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone needed to launch and commercial operate a driverless robotaxi service. This will allow the AV company to begin charging users in Yizhuang, Beijing for rides in its driverless robotaxis.
Since gaining a similar approval to carry out driverless road tests in October 2022, WeRide gradually gained permits to carry out ‘unmanned remote stage’ demonstrations. These began with high-speed road testing to and back from an airport in the city, before scaling up to the early iterations of its commercial operations.
Users can hail a WeRide robotaxi within a designed AV pilot zone located in Yizhuang using the WeRide Go smartphone app, which also shows the estimated cost of the trip. The robotaxi will then arrive at the user-designated pick-up point as passengers verify their identity by scanning a QR code. The service scope will cover a variety of popular destinations around the city, including subway stations, residential areas, office and industrial parks, with a total of 242 pick-up and drop-off stops. One robotaxi will be able to serve a maximum of three passengers, while the service itself will operate from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
In the future, WeRide will continue to increase the number of robotaxis in its commercial fleet and add new pick-up and drop-off stops. Looking ahead, it will also accelerate the commercialization of various types of self-driving products, such as its Robobus, Robosweeper and Robovan, to create an efficient and convenient travel ecosystem and make its driverless services more accessible.
