AKIPRESS.COM - A larger fleet of driverless taxis will soon be available for hire in the capital city as the Office of the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone has decided to launch the commercial operation of autonomous vehicles and expand their serviceable area, China Daily reported.

On Friday, the city's authorities made a policy decision to allow eligible companies to operate driverless taxis without safety supervisors on board and charge passengers for the rides, marking a definite step in commercialization of intelligent transportation.

Self-driving taxis were rolled out on a trial basis in the capital in March following a series of road tests, which were conducted with safety supervisors on board.

Chinese tech giant Baidu and autonomous mobility startup Pony.ai won permits back then to operate driverless taxis through their ride-hailing apps within a 60-square-kilometer area in Yizhuang, located in the southern suburbs of Beijing. The trial rides were free for passengers.

Now, the Office of the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone plans to allow commercial operation of the driverless taxis in an area of 500 sq km. Interested companies are required to apply for commercial operation permits.

According to the office, 116 self-driving taxis have been operating in Beijing on a trial basis for the past four months. They have completed over 1.5 million test trips, and the total length of the trips reached nearly 2 million km. More than 95 percent of passenger ratings have been favorable.