Robot Taxis Stop in Traffic in Chinese City, Stranding Travelers
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- A major driverless car experiment in Wuhan, China, experienced a significant disruption when multiple Baidu-operated Apollo Go robot taxis suddenly stopped in traffic, stranding passengers and blocking other vehicles.
- Wuhan police reported receiving numerous complaints about the self-driving cars halting due to an unspecified "system failure," though the exact number of affected vehicles was not disclosed.
- Authorities quickly deployed traffic and transportation personnel to manage the situation in coordination with Baidu's Apollo Go team, following established contingency plans.
- The incident drew comparisons to a similar event last December involving Waymo's robot taxis in San Francisco, which stopped during a prolonged power outage.
- Social media posts showed Apollo Go cars stopped in hazardous positions on highways in Wuhan, including one vehicle involved in a collision, raising safety concerns about the system failure.
