Beijing announces Robotaxis- China's big move for the future.
Recently, the Beijing city government announced that the city will allow firms to test their Robotaxi service within the city. Despite multiple cities giving the green light to Robotaxis, Beijing will become the first city in China to have detailed legislation regarding insurance and coverage, making Beijing the front runner to have a fully functional Robotaxi fleet in China.
The announcement is seen as a step to have Robotaxis available for the 2022 Winter Olympics hosted in the city. Applicants must test their vehicles in closed areas for 5,000 kilometers before they are allowed onto public roads. In addition, a minimum of 1 million RMB (around 143,000 dollars) insurance must be purchased for each volunteer in the testing if the company would like to apply for a permit to transport customers. Which is unavoidable if companies would like to test drive on public roads as commercial activities are not allowed for the testing period, meaning they must have volunteers for test driving, thus must have insurance.
With around 13 companies including Baidu and NIO getting permits to test their vehicles. Beijing has become the front runner for the future. It would be no surprise when the city is one of the first in the country to have a fully functional fleet of Robotaxis and this may come as soon as the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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