China's first self-driving taxis starts test run in Guangzhou

A self-driving taxi on the road in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, seen here on Thursday, November 1, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

China's first self-driving taxis started trial operations in Guangdong on Thursday. Passengers can order a ride in one of the driverless taxis using a smartphone app. The fare starts at 12 yuan (around 1.7 U.S. dollars), which is the same as for other taxis in the city.

A self-driving taxi on the road in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, seen here on Thursday, November 1, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

A laser, radar sensors, and cameras around each car feeds data into an on-board computer that can safely avoid obstacles and follow the road rules as it drives the passenger to their destination.

A self-driving taxi on the road in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, seen here on Thursday, November 1, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

"The self-driving service is capable of sensing any objects around it within 200 meters, and allows for a human to take control of the vehicle when it switches from 'self-driving mode' to 'normal mode'," according to a technician who works on the vehicle.

A self-driving taxi on the road in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, seen here on Thursday, November 1, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

In order to reduce community and passenger concerns about safety during the trial of the new cars, each of the vehicles has a safety supervisor who can sit in the driver’s seat to ensure that the car runs in a safe manner.