Pony.ai has announced that it will provide driverless transportation services at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), initially to shuttle airport employees. Following the rollout and development of these services, the autonomous driving technology company will look ahead to expand its robotaxi transportation services into urban Hong Kong.
For Pony.ai, the announcement represents both a major milestone and key step for its technology in the Hong Kong market. Here, the city will allow this technology to engage with a diverse range of unique driving scenarios, such as left-side driving, dense traffic and a highly complex driving environment that includes special types of traffic intersections.
HKIA, where Pony.ai’s initial Hong Kong trials are set to take place, is one of the world’s busiest airports by passenger and cargo volume. The company’s technology today has a presence in similarly busy airports in China, operating paid robotaxi services to and from Beijing Daxing International Airport while testing its autonomous vehicles on the main roadways to and from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
This news follows Pony.ai being named as one of several companies to receive mutual recognition qualification in operating cross-regional autonomous robotaxi services across major cities in China’s Greater Bay Area region, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In the future, Pony.ai envisions its AVs seamlessly shuttling between mutually recognized locations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with cross-city services connecting airports and high-speed rail stations, providing local residents with safe, reliable, and convenient robotaxi transportation experiences.
