Self-driving cars - in real-world applications as of now limited to robotaxis - are simultaneously existing and scary as technological and ethical implications around the subject are plentiful and recent accidents - for example of a Cruise robotaxi in San Francisco - have caused some hesitation among lawmakers and the public.
While aformentioned Cruise by GM has suspended operations in six U.S. cities after the October incident, competitor Waymo by Alphabet is still operating limited public operations of driverless taxis in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and new-addition Austin, Texas. A Las Vegas service by Motional was suspended in May.
In Chinese cities, it is already somewhat more normal to be able to board a robotaxi (or robobus) as several operators are vying for dominance and have expanded fleets. Apollo Go by Chinese tech company Baidu, one of the larger operators, currently has as many as 400 robotaxis on the road in the city of Wuhan. Several companies are operating public trials and services in the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. Smaller cities are also being included by some companies and they are also often where companies launched their first trial services. While initial trials were often free and even on an application basis, new low fare structures for robotaxis in China have already ruffled feathers with taxi drivers.
While reassessing Cruise was supposed to service Dubai, Chinese provider WeRide has run a public trial in Abu Dhabi. Singapore has a robobus service by the same company.
Many current robotaxis are limited to specific areas, times of day or distances and might have a remote safety operator, who under Chinese law can look after as many as three taxis. Some operations in China also include on-board safety drivers, which are present but are not needed for any specific maneuvers of the vehicle.
