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Recently, the driverless online ride-hailing service "LuoBoKuaiPao" has been on the hot search list many times due to the explosive growth in orders in Wuhan City, with a peak of more than 20 orders per vehicle per day, triggering many discussions about driverless online ride-hailing services from the outside world.

On July 16, a reporter from Nandu Bay Finance experienced the driverless online car-hailing services of Luobo Kuaipao, Pony.ai, and Ruqi Travel in the trial operation area in Nanshan, Shenzhen.In general, the riding experience of the driverless online ride-hailing vehicles on the three platforms is basically the same as that of ordinary online ride-hailing vehicles, but they all have problems such as sudden braking, the need to get on and off at fixed stops, and long waiting times.

However, all driverless vehicles on all platforms are currently free to ride in Shenzhen. Compared with ordinary online ride-hailing vehicles, driverless vehicles have an absolute price advantage in the operating area. In the future, whether driverless online ride-hailing vehicles will continue to have a price advantage, and whether they will eventually completely replace traditional online ride-hailing vehicles or compete with traditional online ride-hailing vehicles remains to be seen.

The radish is not fast.

waitovertakeIf rejected after 2 hours, the order will be automatically cancelled

Recently, Luobo Kuaipao has been frequently searched, and its vehicles can often be seen in the streets and alleys of Nanshan District, Shenzhen. In the operating area of ​​Luobo Kuaipao, Nandu Wancaishe reporters personally experienced its driverless online car-hailing service on July 14 and July 16.

Open the "LuoBoKuaiPao" app, and the blue enclosed area shown on the map is the main scope of its trial operation, mainly distributed in Nanshan District. The system prompts passengers to arrive at the boarding point as early as possible, because parking cannot exceed 3 minutes.

On July 14 (Sunday), the reporter selected the starting point and began to wait for the system to match a vehicle. The LuoBoKuaiPao APP page showed that there were 20 vehicles waiting ahead. But unexpectedly, after waiting for about 2 hours and the page showed that there was only one more vehicle to wait for, the order on the phone was suddenly automatically cancelled by the system without any operation or prompt information, because the order timed out.

This also meant that the two-hour wait was in vain. Learning from this lesson, on July 16, the reporter changed his location and started to take a taxi 2 hours in advance. However, the second taxi attempt also failed. After waiting for about 2 hours, the system automatically cancelled the order. After the third attempt to take a taxi, after waiting for about an hour, a car finally accepted the order.

On July 16, a reporter from Nanduwan Finance asked the customer service about this situation. The customer service said that due to the limited vehicle resources of Luobo Kuaipao, if there are no idle service vehicles near the pick-up point, it will result in a long waiting time and the order will be automatically cancelled.

Although it is difficult to wait for Carrot Run, the comfort level in the car is better than other platforms, the interior and equipment are newer, and the car is fresh and odor-free. In addition to viewing the route, the operating screen can also adjust the air conditioner, listen to music, watch videos, etc.

During the driving process, the safety officer did not intervene in the vehicle control. On open roads, the vehicle accelerated and there was a noticeable push back, but when encountering bumpy roads or vehicles cutting in, there would be sudden braking and the body of the car would shake significantly.

The starting point of the reporter's test was Shenzhen Hi-Tech Park Metro Station and the end point was Shenzhen Talent Park, with a total distance of 6.2 kilometers and a time of about 21 minutes. In comparison, the driverless online car-hailing service of Ruqi Travel was faster on the same section of the road, taking only 15 minutes.

Pony.ai, Ruqi Travel

Interactivity is average, and security still needs to be improved

On July 16, the reporter also took a test ride on Pony.ai and Ruqi Travel. Compared with Luobo Kuaipao, the waiting time for Pony.ai and Ruqi Travel on the same road section is shorter, averaging about 20-30 minutes. For passengers who are not in a hurry and want to experience driverless driving for free, it is a better choice.

but,Compared with LuoBoKuai, the vehicles of Pony.ai and Ruqi Travel are older, the operating screens inside the cars do not have interactive functions such as music and air conditioning adjustment, and the interface is not aesthetically pleasing.

However, when encountering special situations during driving, the reporter saw that the self-driving car of Ruqi Travel would automatically honk to remind vehicles and pedestrians to give way. The safety officer of Ruqi Travel told the reporter that in addition to actively honking the horn, the vehicle can also actively identify the traffic police. "I have encountered traffic police myself, and this car can recognize the traffic police and move according to the traffic police's instructions."

In addition, recently, the frequent trending searches of Carrot Run have also quickly sparked online discussions about driverless cars. Some people have pointed out that driverless cars are taking away the jobs of taxi and online car-hailing drivers. Is it possible for online car-hailing drivers to switch to safety officer positions in the future?

A safety officer at Ruqi Travel told reporters that he had switched from a drone automation-related job to a safety officer and has been working there for about half a year. "The safety officer's job is two shifts, and the hours are relatively flexible."

However, the recent traffic brought by Luobo Kuaipao has also made driverless online ride-hailing popular. Pony.ai's safety officer told reporters that the orders he has received recently are obviously much more than before. "Recently, there are a lot of orders. From 8 am to 3 pm, we can receive at least 10 orders. Many passengers have to queue up to get a ride."

In addition, in terms of safety, the three platforms have not encountered any safety issues during driving. If the seat belt is loose during driving, a reminder to fasten the seat belt will immediately appear on the screen. In this regard, Pony.ai and Ruqi Travel do not have any reminders. Only the safety officer will give a verbal reminder after discovering that the seat belt is loose.

Overall, autonomous driving is a cost-effective and worthwhile experience if you are not in a hurry. However, despite its price advantage, it still has many inconveniences as a daily travel method at this stage.

Shenzhen builds "first city for driverless cars"

Autonomous driving related companies rank first in the country

Self-driving buses to start running at the end of the month

Judging from the current development of driverless online ride-hailing in China, Wuhan is the eye of the storm, while Shenzhen is the base camp. Many driverless online ride-hailing platforms have chosen to land in Shenzhen to explore commercialization paths.

According to public data, there are more than 12,000 autonomous driving-related companies in my country, and Shenzhen ranks first with more than 1,300 companies. From upstream perception, decision-making, execution, and communication systems to midstream autonomous driving solution providers, and then to downstream testing, evaluation, and travel services, a large number of autonomous driving high-tech companies such as RoboSense, LeiShen Intelligent, Hangsheng Electronics, Yuanrong Qixing, Baidu, Pony.ai, and WeRide have gathered in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen has also actively introduced policies to support the development of autonomous driving. In July 2022, Shenzhen also issued the "Regulations on the Management of Intelligent Connected Vehicles in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which is the first unmanned vehicle regulation in China. The "Regulations" specifically stipulates the definition of autonomous driving of intelligent connected vehicles, market access rules, road rights, and rights and responsibilities, filling the commercial pain points caused by the gaps in laws and regulations, and expanding space for Shenzhen to develop intelligent connected vehicles.

In July 2023, Shenzhen issued the country's first L3 expressway test license plate; in August of the same year, Shenzhen released the country's first set of local standards for intelligent connected vehicle products, providing strong support for local access to intelligent connected vehicles.

According to a relevant person in charge of the Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau, as of May 2024, Shenzhen has opened a total of 944 kilometers of test demonstration roads, and has issued 1,037 road test and demonstration application notices to 349 smart connected vehicles from 19 companies; compared with the end of 2023, the mileage of open roads has increased by 12.65% and the number of license plates has increased by 48.14%.

In June this year, Xu Wei, member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau, said at the 2024 Global Intelligent Connected Vehicle Commercialization Innovation Forum that Shenzhen will take intelligent connected vehicles and functional unmanned vehicles as the starting point, aiming at the "six firsts", comprehensively building the most open city in the country for autonomous driving, and supporting Shenzhen to carry out full-scenario and full-model technology applications. This includes building the country's first benchmark city for full city openness, promoting true full city openness, and fully opening more than 8,000 kilometers of roads to all models.

As of now, Shenzhen has 944 kilometers of open roads for autonomous driving, including 67 kilometers of expressways, and has initially realized the normalization of functional unmanned vehicles and diversified scenario operation pilots. Taking Shenzhen Pingshan District as an example, nearly 40 unmanned delivery vehicle demonstration routes have been opened, and 46 unmanned delivery vehicles have been approved to go on the road to carry out urban delivery services.

On July 14, Shenzhen Bus Group also announced that it plans to launch 20 self-driving buses in Qianhai, Shenzhen by 2024. The operation scenarios will cover subway stations, business districts, residential areas, central business districts, industrial parks, cultural and tourism scenic spots, etc. The first self-driving bus line, Line B998, is expected to be officially launched at the end of July.

Written by: Nandu Wancaishe reporter Yan Zhaoxin Cheng Yang