Self-driving buses start trial operations in Shenzhen

Four self-driving buses have started free trial operations in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province over the weekends.

The so-called Alphaba buses can automatically avoid pedestrians, speed up, slow down, make emergency stops, change roads and navigate traffic lights. Both the navigation program and the buses have been developed and manufactured in China. The buses ran over a 1.2 kilometer stretch, with three stations in a section of Futian district. The buses hit speeds of 40 kilometers per hour. The buses cost about 500,000 yuan ($76,000 US dollars) each.