Robotaxis are taking over China’s cities. What are they actually like to ride?
The driver’s seat was empty and the steering wheel was turning on its own. Sitting in the back of a Pony.ai robotaxi in Shenzhen, I felt a flicker of nervousness. But as the car glided into traffic, the initial unease gave way to an appreciation of something far less futuristic: the blissful absence of small talk with the driver. My test rides in two of China’s major tech hubs – with Pony.ai in…
Sitting in the back of a Pony.ai robotaxi in Shenzhen, the driver's seat was empty and the steering wheel turned itself. After a slightly delayed arrival, the car's interior revealed a world devoid of small talk with a human driver. In two major Chinese tech hubs - Shenzhen and Beijing - I experienced how autonomous vehicles are gradually becoming a regular mode of transport despite some practical compromises.
