In the latest step toward building a revenue-generating robotaxi business, Chinese start-up Pony.ai said it has obtained China’s first permit to charge fares for fully driverless taxis in core parts of a business district of Shenzhen.
The city is a coastal tech hub in southern China, sometimes dubbed the country’s Silicon Valley.
The license allows Pony.ai to charge fares for rides — without any human staff inside — in key parts of the district of Nanshan, home to tech giants Tencent and DJI. The permit does not cover trips across the entire space, limiting it to areas such as the financial sub-district.
Pony.ai has already operated robotaxis in parts of a neighboring Shenzhen district and can run taxis with human staff inside on routes that connect to the Shenzhen international airport and Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint on the border with Hong Kong.
While Pony.ai did not disclose how many robotaxis it could operate in the Shenzhen region, the company said the driverless cars could run daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time.
Residents can book the robotaxi rides through Pony.ai’s app or a mini-program inside the WeChat messaging app, according to a press release.
