[Photo via Pony.ai]

Pony.ai, a company dedicated to autonomous driving, recently announced the commencement of its paid robotaxi pick-up services for passengers at Beijing Daxing International Airport. It is among the first companies in Beijing approved for commercial trials of the autonomous driving on expressways under the supervision of personnel in driver's seat. This milestone signifies the inaugural launch of paid autonomous driving services at a major transportation hub in Beijing.

This February, autonomous driving companies such as Pony.ai, WeRide, and Apollo Go all announced that they have received official approval to start demonstrations of manned autonomous driving between Beijing Daxing International Airport and Yizhuang.

The route covers approximately 40 kilometers, including part of the Beijing-Taipei Expressway, Daxing Airport North Expressway, and Daxing Airport Expressway. The speed limit is also the same as the traditional manual driving vehicles, which is 120 kilometers per hour.

According to the local policy, the manned autonomous driving services are free of charge for passengers during the demonstration period, but will charge passengers for commercial piloting programs later. Pony.ai disclosed that its pricing for autonomous driving services to and from Beijing Daxing International Airport would employ a flat-rate mechanism, similar to urban service pricing rules, with no additional highway tolls for users. Users can book airport pick-up and drop-off services from over 1,000 locations in Yizhuang through the mobile App of Pony.ai one day in advance.

[Photo via Pony.ai]

In high-speed road scenarios, autonomous driving vehicles are capable of handling common and extreme situations such as toll stations, ramps for entering and exiting, temporary road construction or renovation, and debris on roads.

It is reported that Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area will expand its robotaxi service scenarios to include Beijing South Railway Station, Chaoyang Railway Station, Fengtai Railway Station, Qinghe Railway Station, Beijing Sub-Center Railway Station, Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. Previously, the testing phase was launched at Beijing South Railway Station, with the passenger services to be officially started there in the near future.

(Source: Beijing Daily App)