Beijing strengthens policy support for road testing of autonomous buses

BEIJING -- Beijing unveiled regulations for trial implementation on Thursday to provide policy support for the upcoming road tests of autonomous buses, local authorities said.

Beijing will allow road tests of its first batch of eight autonomous buses from three tech enterprises -- Baidu, QCraft and SenseTime, according to the Beijing municipal working office of high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone.

To ensure the safety of passengers and pedestrians, the regulations mapped out requirements involving in-vehicle management, vehicle operation, road test, insurance guarantee and technical parameters, the office said.

For example, every autonomous bus must be equipped with a human driver to supervise its mobility, and another person is also needed to maintain order on the bus.

In the next stage, the office plans to collaborate with Beijing Public Transport, the Chinese capital's bus operator, to explore the possibility of putting into operation more autonomous buses in core business areas and industrial parks in the demonstration zone, said Kong Lei, director of the working office.

A total of 278 roads stretching more than 1,027 km in Beijing had been opened for self-driving vehicle tests as of September 2021, according to Beijing Innovation Center for Mobility Intelligent.