Shenzhen News (Shenzhen)—DeepRoute.ai on Monday launched its robotaxi service trial in Shenzhen with a fleet of 20 self-driving taxis. The cabs will be monitored by safety drivers and will start to take passengers around the central business district of Futian.

The company said in a statement that it has received a permit to run trials the city, making it the first officially robotaxi program open to public in Shenzhen. The service is free of charge and is open to adult passengers who have applied for an invitation code. The robotaxis will run between 100 designated pick-up and drop-off locations, with the routes covering 200 kilometres of roads in the Futian district.

Shenzhen has become as China’s robotaxi capital with a growing fleet of autonomous driving vehicles and over 800 startups in the city. The industry is supported by the government that is drafting regulations for self-driving cars.

The regulations are expected to cover road testing, operation permits, accidents, traffic violations, and legal lability.

Autonomous vehicle startup AutoX announced in January 2021 its launch of self-driving robotaxis trial to the public in the Pingshan district. However, the Shenzhen government said it had not granted a permit to AutoX.

Search giant Baidu launched a public robotaxi service in Beijing last year, and became China’s first paid self-driving taxi service in May in an enclosed venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The service is not available in the public streets of Beijing.

DeepRoute.ai is an international, full stack, Level 4 self-driving solution provider with its China headquarters in Shenzhen, and its US headquarters in Fremont, California.