Beijing announced plans to support the use of autonomous vehicles for urban public electric bus transportation, ride-hailing services and car rentals recently. According to China Daily, the Beijing municipal government is creating legislative backing for the deployment of driverless vehicles in the capital roads.
The first step taken by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology is a draft for public feedback on autonomous vehicle regulations released recently.
“While upholding safety as a top priority, the regulations aim to provide clear, transparent and predictable institutional norms for market entities operating Level 3 and above autonomous vehicles,” said the bureau, showing that the city wants to create legislation to address key issues faced by autonomous vehicle innovation activities in specific areas.
In Beijing, anyone can use an app to summon autonomous vehicle services, similar to taxi or uber, within the demonstration zone, which was created in 2020.
The three major cultural areas in the sub-center of Beijing can be accessed though driverless minibusses, and autonomous vehicles are also on the road, using autonomous tech for retail, patrol and cleaning.