Robotaxi

Distressed riders who were stranded for hours say Apollo Go customer service agents offered ‘useless platitudes’A “system malfunction” has caused several self-driving robotaxis to stall in the middle of the road in China, police have confirmed, after distressed riders were stranded for hours.Local authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said they began receiving calls “one after another” on Tuesday night from riders reporting that autonomous vehicles operated by the Chinese internet company Baidu had frozen. Continue reading...

More than 100 of the Baidu driverless vehicles stopped running because of a system malfunctionSome robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday.A preliminary investigation indicates more than 100 robotaxis came to a halt because of a “system malfunction”, police in the city of Wuhan said in a statement, without elaborating. No injuries were reported. Continue reading...

• Waymo's autonomous vehicle service is experiencing explosive growth, with weekly paid robotaxi trips increasing tenfold in under two years. • The surge signals a significant shift toward autonomous vehicles dominating the transportation industry, though regulatory hurdles and safety concerns remain pressing challenges. • The growth demonstrates market viability of driverless technology while raising questions about infrastructure readiness and public acceptance.

• Uber is committing up to $1.25 billion in additional investment to Rivian's robotaxi fleet, following the ride-hail company's earlier $300 million commitment and plans to purchase 10,000 robotaxis for launch in San Francisco and Miami. • This represents one of Uber's latest partnerships in autonomous vehicle development, continuing the company's strategy of diversifying robotaxi partnerships over the past year. • The investment accelerates Uber's autonomous vehicle ambitions as it seeks to scale robotaxi operations across major U.S. cities.

• Uber Technologies announced plans to launch robotaxi services in 28 cities starting next year, driving shares up 4.2% on March 18, 2026. • The expansion marks a major step in autonomous vehicle deployment, building on partnerships with self-driving tech firms amid rising AI integration in mobility. • This development intensifies competition in the US ride-hailing market and could reshape urban transportation, with implications for jobs and infrastructure.

Uber announced a partnership with autonomous vehicle startup Motional to deploy commercial robotaxis in Las Vegas starting this year, marking a major expansion in US self-driving technology. The service will initially operate with safety drivers before progressing to fully driverless rides, integrating with Uber's ride-hailing app for seamless user access. This launch positions Las Vegas as a key testing ground for robotaxi scalability amid competition from Waymo and Cruise. Industry observers anticipate broader US rollouts by 2027 as regulatory hurdles ease under the Trump administration.