Gangnam Perspective: Riding a Robotaxi in Shenzhen, China

I had a chance to ride a self-driving taxi (robotaxi) in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Last fall in Shanghai, I tried hard to hail a robotaxi but failed because I was a foreigner and lacked information. This time, before leaving for China, I installed a Chinese robotaxi-hailing app and linked it to my payment method. Commercial robotaxis are already operating widely in the United States of America (US) and China, so simply having ridden one no longer feels like something extraordinary. Shenzhen, known as China's technology innovation hub, Shenzhen, is the first city in China where Level 4 autonomous driving (no human driver intervention) robotaxis have gone into commercial service. Today, more than 2,000 robotaxis are running not only here but also in 17 cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan and Chengdu. Chinese commercial robotaxis such as Baidu’s Apollo Go service, which has accumulated over 200 million kilometers of driving data, are competing for leadership with the world’s largest player, the US-based Waymo of Google.
In the middle of last month, I went to the southwestern part of Shenzhen, the Nanshan District of Shenzhen. Nanshan District, home to more than 1,000 artificial intelligence (AI) companies, has the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Shenzhen, reaching 90.8 billion dollars in the first to third quarters of 2024. Commercial robotaxis are operating there and in neighboring Bao'an District as well.
I went to a designated robotaxi pick-up and drop-off point and hailed a taxi. I chose the "fully driverless" option, which meant there would be no human safety operator sitting in the driver’s seat. About five minutes after I called it, a Chinese-made electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) pulled up in front of me. When I confirmed the ride on my phone, the doors unlocked. Aside from a transparent plastic cover over the steering wheel, there was truly no one inside. Monitors about the size of a laptop screen at the front and rear of the cabin displayed a message saying that the passenger who requested the ride had boarded and that the car would depart once the seat belt was fastened.
The car started off very smoothly. I found myself exclaiming, "Wow, the car is driving itself with no one at the wheel," and I was genuinely astonished by the unfamiliar experience. When changing lanes, the system visually highlighted the target lane on the monitor, which helped ease any anxiety. Other drivers seemed to recognize that my vehicle was a robotaxi, thanks to the markings on the exterior, and they yielded or overtook without any visible discomfort. On a wide, ten-lane road with traffic flowing in both directions, the robotaxi changed lanes and drove along without a hitch. It stopped at intersections, made left and right turns, and merged onto connecting roads with reassuring stability.
The initial excitement and sense of strangeness faded quickly. Even as we cruised at the local top speed of 80 kilometers per hour, I did not feel uneasy. In fact, with no driver in the front seat blocking my view, the open line of sight made the ride feel more pleasant and comfortable. After traveling about 15 kilometers in roughly 20 minutes, the robotaxi came to a safe stop at the destination I had set. I paid the fare, around 8,000 won in our currency, using a linked mobile payment service, and as I stepped out, the taxi slowly disappeared from view.
From anxiety and unfamiliarity to surprise and then comfort—amid this rapid swing of emotions, I became convinced that, at the current pace of AI and autonomous driving technology, once people grow accustomed to it, robotaxis will soon become part of everyday urban life. Just as we quickly adapted from basic mobile phones to smartphones and now to AI, the sense of unfamiliarity with "driverless mobility" will likely be overcome with relative ease.
With the level of challenge and innovation we see in South Korea today, can we really keep up with the speed and force with which China is building up its AI robotics and autonomous driving technologies? China and the US began this race five years ago, while we are only now, perhaps this fall, preparing to run three Level 4 autonomous driving robotaxis on a trial basis in Seoul—a mere baby step. At this rate, we may end up having to rely on Chinese technology not only for robotaxi hardware manufacturing but also for operations and services. The company that operated the robotaxi I rode, for which I paid my own fare, is already aggressively expanding its business to South Korea, Japan and markets around the world.
"AI grand transformation, ultra-innovation..." The words roll off the tongue so easily. Yet even ride-hailing services, which have become part of daily life everywhere except South Korea, were cut off here by the shortsightedness of politicians who could not see even one step ahead, as shown by the 2019 Anti-Tada Act. To politicians who close one eye in the name of political interests, and to policymakers who treat regulation as if it were their sacred lifeline, I say this: go to China, hail a robotaxi yourself, and take a ride.
skjung@fnnews.com Reporter