Self-driving buses start trial commercial operation in China's Chongqing

An L4 autonomous bus makes its debut during the launching ceremony in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Sept. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

CHONGQING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Three self-driving buses developed by Chinese tech giant Baidu have started trial commercial operation in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The buses, named Robobus, are 5.9 meters long and have a cruising speed of about 40 km per hour. They are equipped with Level 4 automation technology.

The buses can stop by themselves, navigate complex urban road conditions and fully meet the needs of normal bus operation, said Baidu, adding that they run on a round trip of nearly 10 km.

Residents can use facial recognition, IC cards or Alipay to take the bus.

Zhang Shangui, a safety officer of Baidu's autonomous driving unit in Chongqing, said that autonomous buses have been put into operation in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Cangzhou and other cities, and Chongqing is one of the earliest cities to explore commercial operation.