On January 14, Pony.ai, an autonomous vehicle technology company announced that it had initiated unmanned autonomous driving tests on expressways and highways in Beijing.

Starting in September 2024, Beijing initiated autonomous driving shuttle tests in key transportation hubs including Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijingnan Railway Station (Beijing South Railway Station). Autonomous "taxis" were also permitted to operate on multiple highways, expressways, and ring roads. This latest approval signifies that, for the first time, autonomous driving tests on Beijing's highways and urban expressways have entered an "unmanned" phase, removing the requirementfor having safety officers in driver's seats in such tests.

The test routes encompass sections of Beijing-Taipei Expressway (Beijing section), Beijing Daxing International Airport Expressway, Beijing Daxing International Airport North Line Expressway, South 3rd Ring Road, South 4th Ring Road, South 5th Ring Road, and Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway, totaling nearly 90 kilometers. Specifically, the testing time for the routes connecting Beijing Daxing International Airport is from 7:00 to the next day's 1:00, while that for the routes to Beijing South Railway Station is from 9:00 to 17:00, covering a range of driving conditions such as morning and evening rush hours, daytime off-peak hours, and late-night periods marked by low light.

(Source: Beijing Daily App)