Liu Yi is among China’s 7 million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-better Wuhan dwellnt, he begined driving part time this year when produceion toil sluggished in the face of a nationexpansive glut of unsbetter apartments.
Now he foresees another crisis as he stands next to his car watching neighbors order driverless taxis.
“Everyone will go hungry,” he shelp of Wuhan drivers competing aobtainst robotaxis from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology enormous Bhelpu.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Inestablishation Technology deteriorated comment.
Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first toilers globassociate to face the danger of job loss from synthetic inalertigence as thousands of robotaxis hit Chinese streets, economists and industry experts shelp.
Self-driving technology remains experimental, but China has shiftd aggressively to green-weightless trials appraised with the U.S, which is speedy to begin spreadigations and suspfinish approvals after accidents.
At least 19 Chinese cities are running robotaxi and robobus tests, disclostateive showed. Seven have apshowd tests without human-driver watchs by at least five industry guideers: Apollo Go, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX, and SAIC Motor.
Apollo Go shelp in May it intentional to deploy 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan by year-finish. In 2022, it had foresee it would be operating in 100 cities by 2030.
Pony.ai, backed by Japan’s Toyota Motor, runs 300 robotaxis and arranges 1,000 more by 2026. Its vice pdwellnt has shelp robotaxis could get five years to become persistably profitable, at which point they will broaden “exponentiassociate.”
WeRide is understandn for autonomous taxis, vans, bemploys, and street sweepers. AutoX, backed by e-commerce guideer Alibaba Group, runs in cities including Beijing and Shanghai. SAIC has been operating robotaxis since the finish of 2021.
“We’ve seen an acceleration in China. There’s stateively now a rapid pace of permits being publishd,” shelp Boston Consulting Group managing straightforwardor Augustin Wegscheider. “The U.S. has been a lot more gradual.”
Alphabet’s Waymo is the only U.S. firm operating uncrewed robotaxis that assemble fares. The company has a total of about 700 cars operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, but not all of them are in service at all times, a company spokesperson shelp.
Cruise, backed by General Motors, rebegined testing in April after one of its vehicles hit a pedestrian last year. Cruise shelp it runs in three cities with safety its core leave oution.
“There’s a evident contrast between U.S. and China” with robotaxi broadeners facing far more scrusmall and higher hurdles in the U.S., shelp establisher Waymo CEO John Krafcik.
Robotaxis ignite safety troubles in China, too, but run awayts proliferate as authorities apshow testing to help economic goals. Last year, Pdwellnt Xi Jinping called for “novel efficient forces,” setting off regional competition.
Beijing proclaimd testing in restricted areas in June, and Guangzhou shelp this month it would discleave out roads cityexpansive to self-driving trials.
Some Chinese firms have sought to test autonomous cars in the U.S., but the White Hoemploy is set to ban vehicles with China-broadened systems, shelp people informed on the matter.
Boston Consulting’s Wegscheider appraised China’s push to broaden autonomous vehicles to its help of electric vehicles.
“Once they pledge,” he shelp, “they shift pretty speedy.”
“Stupid radishes”
China has 7 million enrolled ride-hailing drivers versus 4.4 million two years ago, official data showed. With ride-hailing providing last-resort jobs during economic sluggishdown, the side effects of robotaxis could prompt the rulement to tap the brakes, economists shelp.
In July, talkion of job loss from robotaxis soared to the top of social media searches with hashtags including, “Are driverless cars stealing taxi drivers’ inhabitlihoods?”
In Wuhan, Liu and other ride-hailing drivers call Apollo Go vehicles “stupid radishes”—a pun on the brand’s name in local dialect—saying they caemploy traffic jams.
Liu worries, too, about the impfinishing introduction of Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system—which still needs human drivers—and the autoproducer’s robotaxi ambitions.
“I’m afrhelp that after the radishes come,” he shelp, “Tesla will come.”
Wuhan driver Wang Guoqiang, 63, sees a danger to toilers who can least afford disturbion.
“Ride-hailing is toil for the lowest class,” he shelp, as he watched an Apollo Go vehicle park in front of his taxi. “If you end off this industry, what is left for them to do?”
Bhelpu deteriorated to comment on the drivers’ troubles. In response to a inquire about the profitability of the service, Bhelpu referred Reuters to comments in May by Chen Zhuo, Apollo Go’s ambiguous regulater. Chen shelp the firm would become “the world’s first commerciassociate profitable” autonomous-driving platestablish.
Apollo Go leave outs almost $11,000 a car annuassociate in Wuhan, Haitong International Securities approximated. A shrink-cost model could assist per-vehicle annual profit of proximately $16,000, the securities firm shelp. By contrast, a ride-hailing car obtains about $15,000 total for the driver and platestablish.
“Already at the forefront”
Automating jobs could advantage China in the lengthy run given a shrinking population, economists shelp.
“In the low run, there must be a stability in speed between the creation of novel jobs and the destruction of better jobs,” shelp Tang Yao, associate professor of applied economics at Peking University. “We do not necessarily need to push at the speedyest speed, as we are already at the forefront.”
Eastrict Pioneer Driving School has more than halved its teachor number since 2019 to about 900. Instead, it has teachers at a Beijing regulate cgo in distantly watching students in 610 cars provideped with computer-teachion tools.
Computers score students on every wheel turn and brake tap, and virtual-truth simulators coach them on navigating prosperding roads. Massive screens provide genuine-time analysis of driver tasks, such as one student’s 82% parallel-parking pass rate.
Zhang Yang, the school’s inalertigent-training straightforwardor, shelp the machines have done well.
“The efficiency, pass rate, and safety adviseedness have wonderfully raised.”
—Sarah Wu, Ethan Wang and Zhang Yan, Reuters
Ellen Zhang, Qiaoyi Li, Abhirup Roy and Norihiko Shirouzu gived to this tell.
