Intelligent taxis hit the road in Shanghai ahead of the auto show
Residents in Shanghai can now enjoy taxi services with intelligent connected cars, as Shanghai's first batch of intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) taxis were approved to begin operation on Monday in suburban Jiading District.
Nine enterprises obtained licenses for ICV operation during Monday's ceremony, which was held ahead of the 2023 Auto Shanghai that will kick off at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) starting on Tuesday.
The city has released ICV road-testing approvals and pilot plates to 624 vehicles from 28 enterprises since last year, with a total testing mileage of over 14.22 million kilometers.
There are a total of 926 roads in the city available for intelligent travel, according to the city's transportation officials.
Intelligent connected taxis approved for operation in Shanghai's Jiading District
ICVs generally refers to cars which activate artificial intelligence through sensor and tele-communication technology. they're equipped with advanced sensors, controllers, actuators, and other devices, integrating supreme communication and network technology, to achieve intelligent information exchange and interaction between vehicles, people, roads, and operating background.
Their ultimate aim is to achieve safe driverless operation in the near future.
Through apps from companies like Dazhong, Jinjiang and Xiangdao Chuxing, an online taxi-hailing company, the public can experience smart transportation.
"So far, Jiading has provided several hundred open roads totaling 1,117 kilometers for intelligent connected vehicles, which have covered the entire district," said Pan Xiaohong, deputy Party secretary and general manager of Shanghai International Automobile City (Group).
Shanghai is a highland for autonomous driving and ICV development across the country, based on its number of ICV testing enterprises, the number of licenses issued, open road mileage, and road-testing mileage, according to officials.
The city has actively explored application scenarios with ICV, including smart taxis, intelligent logistic and smart delivery. About 15,000 scenarios have been tested so far, according to the officials.
"They cover a wide range of situations from cabs to delivery, and road sweeping," she added.
"It marks a significant step forward for self-driving vehicles, from the test stage to commercial applications in the district," said Yu Wei, deputy director of Jiading's traffic commission.
"We want to provide more services and experiences for the public, and turn the district into a leading international highland of intelligent connected vehicles," he noted.
Last year, over 10 companies with 548 ICVs and driverless devices, finished 563,000 intelligent riding orders, 126,000 intelligent transportation orders and 630,000 intelligent delivery orders.
Last November, measures on ICV operation management were also issued, providing legal protection to the development of the industry.
A passenger has a try on an ICV taxi managed by the ride-hailing platform Apollo Go under Baidu, one of the enterprises receiving the license on Monday.
