Baidu's Apollo Go starts testing robotaxis in London with Freenow by Lyft

Today, Baidu has announced that its autonomous ride-hailing platform, Apollo Go, is road testing in London, in partnership with Freenow by Lyft. The testing will begin in the borough of Brent, and there will be safety operators on board. The testing will cover "a mix of urban and suburban driving environments", according to the official press release. The service will be launched to the public next year.

Baidu's Apollo Go is providing the RT6 robotaxis and autonomous driving technology, while Freenow by Lyft "contributes its local expertise to ensure smooth testing and operation of the fleet".

The RT6 robotaxis will operate as part of a hybrid network alongside Freenow's established taxi and private hire vehicles. So with the robotaxis the number of vehicles on Freenow will increase, providing faster pickup times overall.

Apollo Go's first right-hand-drive market was Hong Kong, where it received the first fully driverless trial permit on July 23. Testing began on Hong Kong's Airport Island yesterday. That was the first fully driverless trial in any right-hand-drive market globally.

As of April, Apollo Go had provided over 22 million rides to the public, while between January and March it completed 3.2 million fully driverless rides, growing 120% year-on-year. As of May, it's available in 27 cities.

Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of Overseas Business Unit, Intelligent Driving Group, said:

The arrival of Apollo Go vehicles in London marks a defining milestone in our global expansion. Testing our autonomous fleet in one of the world's most iconic and complex urban environments validates our technology's maturity and our commitment to this market. By combining our cutting-edge autonomous driving technology with Freenow by Lyft's local operational expertise, we are officially moving from vision to reality, together.

Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of Freenow by Lyft, said:

As a platform with deep roots in the taxi industry, our priority is ensuring that autonomous technology supports the professional drivers who keep London moving. By integrating these purpose-built, autonomous vehicles from Baidu's Apollo Go into the Freenow by Lyft ecosystem, we will give Londoners more sustainable choices to travel, encouraging them to choose shared mobility services over personally-owned vehicles.