Shanghai's autonomous driving starts trial operation today! Starting fare is 14 yuan, with the range gradually expanding. Reporter experience: it feels like an "experienced driver" is behind the wheel

Shanghai's driverless taxis are really coming!

Recently, Shanghai officially issued intelligent connected vehicle demonstration operation permits to 8 companies, including the "smart taxi" business model.

In addition, relevant departments revealed that the entire Pudong New Area will open up to autonomous driving, while also promoting the opening of areas such as Fengxian and Minhang.

On July 26, at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, a new batch of intelligent connected vehicle demonstration operation permits was officially issued, with companies such as Pony.ai Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Baidu Intelligent Driving Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Saike Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Qiangsheng Taxi Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Youdao Zhitu Technology Co., Ltd. among the first batch of approved companies.

The operation permits cover two major business models: smart taxis and smart freight. The companies that obtained the licenses can operate "driverless" vehicles in pilot areas, whereas the existing pilot areas and vehicles in Shanghai have all been "driver-present." Han Dadong, a second-level inspector of the Shanghai Municipal Economic and Information Commission and director of the Automotive Industry Department, revealed at the conference that Shanghai will orderly expand the open areas for autonomous driving, "achieving full openness in Pudong New Area, while also promoting the opening of areas such as Fengxian and Minhang, and connecting the open roads of the city's four major testing areas."

Getting into a taxi without a driver, clicking "Start Now" on the screen inside the car, the taxi turns on its turn signal, the steering wheel turns automatically, and it drives to the designated destination...

On July 31, a reporter from The Paper experienced a truly driverless taxi in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, with no driver and no safety officer.

Some car companies revealed that the starting fare for driverless taxis is 14 yuan for every 3 kilometers, with an additional charge of 2.7 yuan per kilometer for distances over 3 kilometers. The operating hours are from Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 9:30 PM. The operational range starts from Jinqiao and Huamu and will gradually expand to the entire area opened in Pudong.

Dai Dunfeng, the public relations head of Pony.ai, told reporters that their driverless taxis will be open to the public starting August 1. During the initial trial operation phase, there may be many citizens trying it out, and due to the limited number of vehicles, there may be longer waiting times. The number of vehicles deployed will gradually increase based on user demand.

Experience: Accelerates in good road conditions, slows down in the presence of oncoming vehicles

On the afternoon of July 31, the reporter arrived at the Chuanqiao Road side in the Jinqiao area of Pudong New District, entered the starting point and destination on the Pony.ai App, and wanted to go to a nearby shopping mall. After a while, a driverless taxi came and stopped in front of the reporter. After unlocking the car door on the phone, the reporter got in.

Unlike regular taxis, passengers can only sit in the back seat. The reporter fastened the seatbelt in the back seat, clicked "Start Now" on the screen inside the car, and the vehicle turned on its turn signal, the steering wheel turned automatically, and the car began to move During the ride, this driverless taxi seemed to be operated by an "experienced driver": it would accelerate when the road ahead was clear, and it would decelerate in advance when a cyclist approached from the opposite direction, with the braking feeling not very noticeable; when encountering a red light, the braking and subsequent acceleration also felt subtle, making the overall riding experience quite smooth.

Upon reaching the destination, there was a voice prompt inside the vehicle indicating that the vehicle had arrived and that the passenger could open the door to exit. After the reporter got out, the vehicle paused for a few seconds before automatically starting to drive forward.

Car Companies: Strict Assessment Standards at Every Stage Before Obtaining Licenses

Dai Dunfeng, the public relations head of Pony AI, stated that first, the relevant departments have gone through several stages before issuing demonstration operation licenses for intelligent connected vehicles, with strict assessment standards at each stage. "From having a safety driver to no safety driver, and then to fully driverless, each step has very strict requirements, including completing a certain number of kilometers without any accidents or violations to upgrade to the next stage."

Secondly, Pony AI has conducted 50 million kilometers of public road testing, covering various regions across the country, gaining considerable on-road experience. On the hardware side, its vehicles are equipped with 4 LiDARs, 7 cameras, and several millimeter-wave radars that can monitor the movements of 500 pedestrians in real-time. "The LiDAR and cameras serve as the vehicle's eyes and ears, allowing the entire set of equipment to quickly and comprehensively perceive the road conditions."

Dai Dunfeng said, currently its autonomous driving system can basically achieve advanced prediction, which is equivalent to the level of an "experienced driver," enhancing the safety and efficiency of autonomous driving. For example, when the car detects a pedestrian ahead, it not only knows that a pedestrian is present, but it can also determine that this pedestrian may cross the road, allowing it to react in advance to avoid accidents.

Currently, fully driverless taxis operate on a point-to-point autonomous driving model. In terms of pricing, Dai Dunfeng stated that the starting fare is 14 yuan for every 3 kilometers, and the fare will accumulate based on the following pricing rules from the start of the trip. The fare for exceeding the starting distance is 2.7 yuan/km, and for passenger distances exceeding 15 kilometers, the unit price will be 3.6 yuan/km.

At present, Pony AI's operating range starts from Jinqiao and Huamu, specifically operating on Shenjiang Road, Jinxiu East Road, Heisong Road, and Yanggao Middle Road, with plans to gradually expand to the entire open area of Pudong, starting operations for the public on August 1.

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