Baidu Reaches 250,000 Fully Driverless Rides per Week, Matching Waymo’s Spring Level

Baidu’s autonomous driving arm Apollo Go is now completing more than 250,000 fully driverless ride-hailing trips each week, equaling the volume reported by Alphabet-owned Waymo earlier this year. The figure, confirmed by an Apollo Go spokesperson, refers to orders logged through Oct. 31 and underscores the Chinese company’s efforts to scale robotaxi services at home and abroad.

Waymo disclosed the same weekly tally in late April for its paid U.S. operations. The California-based operator, contacted for an update, did not provide a new number. Waymo’s service area currently covers San Francisco and Los Angeles in California and Phoenix, Arizona, with additional ride-hail partnerships through Uber in Austin and Atlanta.

For Baidu, the milestone marks a sharp increase from the second quarter. During the three months ended June 30, Apollo Go averaged about 169,000 fully driverless trips per week, according to a calculation based on the 2.2 million rides it reported for that period. The company has not disclosed how many consecutive weeks it has maintained the higher 250,000-ride level.

Apollo Go’s core mainland markets are Wuhan and designated zones of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. All rides recorded in the 250,000-order total were handled without any safety operator or other staff inside the vehicle, reflecting the highest level of autonomy permitted by local regulators.

International expansion is also under way. Baidu plans to operate robotaxis in Hong Kong, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and has most recently announced intentions to enter Switzerland. Each new city requires a phased approval process, beginning with public testing and moving to fare-charging service once local authorities give clearance.

Since the launch of its robotaxi program, Apollo Go has received 17 million ride orders. Company data show its vehicles have traveled 240 million kilometers (149 miles) in total, including 140 million kilometers driven in fully autonomous mode. On safety metrics, Baidu reports one airbag deployment for every 10.1 million kilometers traveled and says no accident resulting in human injury or death has occurred so far.

Imagem: Internet

The rapid increase in weekly rides comes amid growing competition between Chinese and U.S. firms in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, electric mobility and self-driving systems. Autonomous vehicles remain under regulatory oversight worldwide; in the United States, guidelines are monitored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Baidu is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings on Nov. 18 before U.S. markets open and will hold its annual technology conference in Beijing on Nov. 13. Comparable weekly ride figures from Chinese rivals Pony.ai and WeRide were not available at the time of reporting.

Crédito da imagem: CNBC