Robot cabs on Chinese roads alarm cab drivers
Cab drivers in China are predicting a new crisis, as thousands of robotic cabs from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu take to China’s street. Self-driving technology remains experimental, but China has moved quickly to approve trials compared to the US, which is stricter and initiates investigations and suspends approvals more quickly after accidents.
So far at least 19 Chinese cities are conducting tests with robotic cabs and buses. Seven of them have approved tests without human drivers, conducted by at least five companies, including Apollo Go and AutoX. Apollo Go has said it wants to deploy 1,000 vehicles in Wuhan by the end of the year and operate in 100 cities by 2030.
Appolo Go currently has 300 robot cabs and plans a further 1,000 by 2026, although it may take up to five years before they become profitable.
According to economists and industry experts, cab ride drivers are among the first workers worldwide to face the threat of job losses from artificial intelligence as thousands of robotic cabs take to China’s streets.
Cab drivers in Wuhan call Apollo Go vehicles ‘stupid radishes’ – a pun on the brand’s name in the local dialect – because they cause traffic jams. There are also worries about the imminent introduction of Tesla’s full self-driving system, which still requires human drivers.
Others see a threat to workers least able to withstand disruption, as working for a cab app appears to be work for the lowest class.
Baidu declined to comment on the drivers’ concerns. The company referred to earlier comments by Chen Zhuo, Apollo Go’s general manager, in May. Chen said the company would become “the world’s first commercially profitable” autonomous driving platform.
Apollo Go loses nearly $11,000 annually per car in Wuhan, Haitong International Securities estimated. A cheaper model could enable an annual profit per vehicle of nearly $16,000, it said. By contrast, a cab app company earns a total of about $15,000 for the driver and the platform.
Economists said automating jobs could be beneficial for China in the long run, given its shrinking population. “In the short term, there should be a balance in the speed between creating new jobs and destroying old jobs,” said Tang Yao, associate professor of applied economics at Peking University. “We don’t necessarily have to have the fastest speed, because we are already ahead of the curve.”
Eastern Pioneer Driving School has more than halved its number of instructors to about 900 since 2019. Instead, they have teachers at a control center in Beijing who remotely monitor students in 610 cars equipped with computer instruction tools. Computers score students on every turn of the wheel and every brake tap, and virtual reality simulators coach them as they navigate winding roads.
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers