Recently, Baidu’s autonomous driving travel service platform “Apollo Go” has been operating on a large scale in multiple cities, with a surge in orders. This has directly caused living pressure on a large number of unemployed individuals who relied on ride-hailing services as a means of livelihood, leading to accusations of snatching away opportunities from traditional ride-hailing drivers. At the same time, the frequent occurrence of traffic accidents involving “Apollo Go” has brought its safety hazards to light.
In mid-July, “Apollo Go” was successively launched in 20 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Jinan, and Wuhan for trial operation, with Wuhan being the largest city for unmanned driving operations.
A taxi driver in Wuhan, Zhang Peiliang (alias), mentioned that Wuhan had been conducting trial runs of “Apollo Go” prior to the pandemic for about five years. Apart from “Apollo Go,” there are ongoing tests of unmanned buses and subways in specific areas, making it a key city for unmanned driving experimentation.
The major selling point of “Apollo Go” is its low cost, quickly impacting the taxi market in Wuhan. “The cost is very cheap, approximately 3 to 4 RMB for 10 kilometers (about 0.4 to 0.55 USD), and around 3 to 4 mao per kilometer (about 0.04 to 0.055 USD). This has had a significant impact on the taxi market, especially dealing a fatal blow to ride-hailing services. As both services are hailed in a similar manner, with the starting price for ride-hailing being 7 RMB (about 0.96 USD) for the first 2 kilometers, it directly corners ride-hailing services,” said Zhang Peiliang.
Currently, the taxi market in Wuhan consists of taxis, ride-hailing services, and unmanned ride-hailing services like “Apollo Go.” According to Wuhan’s Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2023, there were approximately 16,000 taxis in Wuhan. The Wuhan Transportation Bureau announced this year that the city operates an average of 29,400 ride-hailing vehicles per day. The over 400 unmanned vehicles deployed by “Apollo Go” hold less than 1% of the market share.
Reportedly, “Apollo Go” has fulfilled 5 million orders so far, accounting for 45% of the industry’s total order volume during the same period. Its expansion strategy is rapidly increasing, with operations starting in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Changsha, Hefei, Yangquan, Wuzhen, and more.
A Wuhan taxi driver complained that his daily earnings have decreased by half after operating for 10 hours, dropping from over 400 RMB to around 200 RMB. As a result, 10% to 15% of drivers have opted to apply for vehicle returns.
A mainland Chinese internet celebrity with over 300,000 followers expressed in a video that high-tech applications like AI should first be utilized in standardized office processes, such as government administrative tasks, rather than competing with the grassroots people struggling to make a living.
The internet celebrity further revealed the economic downturn that forced many Chinese to rely on ride-hailing and food delivery for survival. They stated, “My income as a self-media personnel has been cut in half. With further reductions, driving a ride-hailing service is the only option left, but now even this last resort has come to an end.”
Zhang Peiliang also disclosed that the official figures on vehicle deployment were inaccurate. “It is widely known in the industry that over 1,500 ‘Apollo Go’ vehicles have been deployed. The Wuhan municipal government plans to deploy 10,000 unmanned ‘Apollo Go’ vehicles by the end of 2025, resulting in at least 50,000 drivers being forced to exit.”
Another Wuhan taxi driver, Lin Xiaodong (alias), informed that they are still assessing the threat posed by “Apollo Go.” He said, “It’s indeed cheap, but the experience is poor. Many areas in the city have long lines of people waiting for ‘Apollo Go.’ However, from what I’ve gathered, most try it out of curiosity, but among 10 people, 9 say it’s not good.”
Lin Xiaodong mentioned that besides the poor experience, passenger dissatisfaction with “Apollo Go” mainly stems from safety concerns. He added, “Apollo Go” limits its speed to below 40 kilometers, driving slowly with delayed reactions. When faced with obstacles, it practically comes to a halt, causing congestion. Many “Apollo Go” incidents result in passengers having to contact the customer center, waiting for security personnel to arrive and move the vehicle away. Such poor riding experiences are bound to lead to suspensions – thus, some cities have already halted operations.
A mainland journalist noticed from the “Apollo Go” app that the operational range of the unmanned rental car in Hefei City only covers certain areas in the Baohe District, with segments involving intersections being temporarily suspended. The “Apollo Go” customer service responded that “the products in the Hefei area are currently being upgraded.”
The massive deployment of “Apollo Go” in Wuhan for trial operations, not even ten days in, has caused significant traffic chaos in many neighborhoods, leading to multiple traffic accidents and questioning its safety.
Recent online reports have also frequently exposed traffic accidents related to “Apollo Go.” On July 7, a middle-aged woman riding an electric bicycle was hit by “Apollo Go,” with traffic police intervening at the scene. On the 8th, Baidu released a statement stating the accident occurred at a crossroads in Hanyang District, Wuhan, where “Apollo Go” had a minor contact with a person running a red light as the green light turned on.
Zhang Peiliang stated that in downtown areas, the traffic situation is poor, with passengers complaining that “Apollo Go” frequently brakes suddenly, causing traffic jams. Sometimes, “Apollo Go” stops working altogether, and traffic police have to contact the customer center for resolution.
On July 8, an “Apollo Go” vehicle collided with an electric car while making a left turn at an intersection in Wuhan. As it was unmanned, the determination of responsibility for the accident awaits the decision of traffic police authorities. “Apollo Go” has not offered any response regarding the incident.
In Wuhan, an incident occurred where an “Apollo Go” on the left rear side collided with a newly bought private vehicle, leaving the car owner furious to encounter an unmanned “Apollo Go” in their first-ever traffic accident.
On July 14, an “Apollo Go” was suspected of rear-ending a large truck, with the front end of the “Apollo Go” completely crashing into the rear of the truck. Onlookers questioned, “How is responsibility determined when being rear-ended by an unlicensed and unmanned vehicle?”
Regarding unmanned driving technology, BYD’s founder and former chairman Wang Chuanfu, in a speech in April 2023, pointed out many bottlenecks in (China’s) unmanned driving technology, stressing it’s immature yet hyped up by capital to deceive the public.
Despite numerous issues, “Apollo Go” has experienced substantial revenue growth after extensive deployment for trial operations. On July 10, the order volume of “Apollo Go” in Wuhan saw explosive growth, with a peak of over 20 orders per day per vehicle, equivalent to the average daily orders of taxi drivers. This news also led to an increase in Baidu’s stock price. On the same day, Baidu’s Hong Kong stock price surged over 10%, sparking attention to the related topic and trending on Weibo.
Zhang Peiliang expressed that “Apollo Go” operates without even proper plates or licenses, yet runs extensively on the streets, with even traffic police hesitating to take action. In the event of traffic accidents, it’s uncertain who bears responsibility or makes determinations. The government is evidently more concerned about profit than the livelihoods of taxi drivers and issues of traffic safety.