Hong Kong is taking another step into the future with the launch of driverless transportation within the airport, thanks to Guangzhou-based autonomous vehicle technology pioneers Pony.ai. The company, which currently runs paid robotaxi services in Beijing and Guangzhou, plans to provide similar transportation options within urban areas of Hong Kong. At present, Pony.ai will shuttle airport employees within its premises.
When will driverless taxis launch in Hong Kong?
So far, Pony.ai has not yet announced when they will expand their services into parts of Hong Kong outside the airport, and will only transport staff within Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). This is part of the plan to develop HKIA into a smart airport, with autonomous patrol cars and electric tractors already in service.
Airport authorities also plan to shuttle visitors across the Airportcity Link — which runs between the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and SKYCITY at HKIA — as part of the first autonomous mass transportation system in the city. Each driverless vehicle can hold up to 16 passengers at a time and will complete the journey in three minutes. The government plans to extend the services SKYCITY to Tung Chung, thereby providing convenient connections with the MTR and bus services.
Hong Kong’s transport department also granted a licence to Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi service to test 10 self-driving cars vehicles in North Lantau for a five-year period from December 2024-December 2029. This is the first time that Baidu has received a permit to test their driverless operations outside Mainland China, and it comes with certain conditions. Only one autonomous vehicle can drive on specified road sections at a time, and a backup driver must be in the car who will take control of the vehicle if required.
What is Pony.ai?
Pony.ai is an autonomous vehicle technology company that runs completely driverless ride-hailing services at Beijing Daxing International Airport, and is conducting test drives on the expressway leading to and from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. It was recently listed on NASDAQ and is the first such company in China to get permits for driverless services in the country’s four first-tier cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
Header image credits: Pony.ai
