China's Baidu says it's running 250,000 robotaxis a week — same as Alphabet's Waymo did this spring

In a significant leap for autonomous vehicle technology, Baidu has announced that its robotaxi service, Apollo Go, is now conducting over 250,000 fully driverless rides each week as of October 31. This milestone aligns closely with the figures reported by Alphabet's Waymo back in late April for its own U.S. operations. Baidu's spokesperson revealed this impressive achievement as the company expands its robotaxi services across the globe. While Waymo operates primarily in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, it has not provided recent updates on its ride numbers. The competition between Chinese and American companies intensifies as both strive for dominance in advanced technologies such as AI and autonomous vehicles. The specifics of how long Baidu has maintained this weekly ride volume remain unclear. However, prior to this surge, the company averaged approximately 169,000 rides per week for the quarter ending June 30, as per calculations from disclosed data. Apollo Go predominantly services areas in Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, with expansion plans that now include Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Switzerland. Before being allowed to charge fares, robotaxi companies typically must complete several phases of public testing to meet regulatory standards. To date, Apollo Go has received a staggering 17 million ride orders and has accumulated 240 million kilometers (approximately 149 million miles) in total driving distance, with 140 million of those rides being fully driverless. On the safety front, the company reported that there has been one airbag deployment incident for every 10.1 million kilometers driven, with no significant accidents resulting in human injuries or fatalities. As Baidu prepares to release its quarterly financial results on November 18, anticipation builds for insights into its ongoing growth and technological advancements. Additionally, the company is gearing up for its annual tech conference scheduled for November 13 in Beijing. Meanwhile, updates on weekly figures from competitors like Pony.ai and WeRide are still awaited, and Waymo has not responded to requests for current data.