Self-driving taxi service under test in Anting

Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing launched a trial run of a self-driving ride service on designated test roads last month in Anting Town.

After registering on the Didi Chuxing app, users can apply to try out the service.

The car’s body is printed with the words “automatic driving.” Radar on the top of the car rotates at a high speed to receive signals and navigate the vehicles. Under the radar, there’s a camera to view the real-time road situation.

Each vehicle has a driver and a tester to deal with any emergency situation. The tester will record the test data while answering questions raised by passengers.

The first closed test area of National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (Shanghai) Pilot Demonstration Area was put into operation in Shanghai International Automobile City in Jiading in 2016 to carry out tests and demonstrate intelligent connected vehicles.

In the past four years, the test zone has provided more than 10,000 hours of test services to nearly 100 domestic and foreign enterprises.

Shanghai issued the first batch of intelligent connected vehicle open road test license plates in 2018. So far, Jiading has built a 53.6-kilometer-long open test road, covering an area of 65 square kilometers and 1,580 test scenarios.

The development of self-driving taxis in Jiading is attributed to the district’s new infrastructure construction. The 53.6-kilometer open test road has full 5G coverage and a high-precision map.