While residents in some parts of Shenzhen are already accustomed to the presence of self-driving taxis, autonomous street cleaners, and food delivery drones, the introduction of driverless minibuses is set to further revolutionize their daily commutes.

A total of 20 driverless new energy minibuses will launch on four bus lines in Qianhai at the end of this month, operator Shenzhen Bus Group announced. These will be the city’s first driverless minibus lines operated by a public transport company.

The four lines will cover subway stations, shopping districts, residential areas, central business districts, industrial parks, and cultural and tourism areas.

The 6-meter-long, nine-seat minibuses on the lines are equipped with advanced technology that allows them to recognize lane markings and traffic signals, safely overtake cars and change lanes, and navigate complex urban driving challenges with precision.

In compliance with the city’s regulations for intelligent connected vehicle management, each minibus will be staffed with a dedicated safety officer who can intervene and take control of the minibus during emergencies.

Residents can book rides online by visiting the “深巴出行” (Shenzhen Bus Travel) mini-program homepage and clicking on “Autonomous Driving.” During initial trial operations, the fare is free. When normal operations begin, the fare will be 1 yuan (US$0.137).

Shenzhen already had a driverless bus as early as 2020, when the first intelligent connected driverless bus was introduced in Pingshan District.

Operated by DeepBlue Technology on a trial basis and nicknamed “Panda Bus” due to looking like a panda, the bus is equipped with a palm print recognition system and cameras that can identify people who are smoking and committing crimes like theft, record the appearance of perpetrators, and immediately broadcast a warning. In addition, the bus is friendly to passengers who use wheelchairs and even has vending machines.

At present, the Panda Bus runs between the Pingshan High-speed Railway Station and the Pingshan Biomedicine Enterprise Accelerator Park. It makes two trips on weekdays, and residents can use the “熊猫智行” (Panda Smart Travel) mini-program to make reservations.

In May of last year, a driverless minibus was launched in the Xili area of Nanshan District. This fully autonomous minibus, devoid of a cockpit, is currently on test runs in confined area bounded by four roads — Chuangke Road, Liu-xian Boulevard, Shigu Road, and Chaguang Road.

As one of 20 pilot cities in China spearheading the “vehicle-road-cloud integration” pilot program for the advancement of intelligent connected vehicles, Shenzhen has designated nearly 1,000 kilometers of roads for autonomous vehicle testing to date. The city is also home to over 1,300 enterprises focused on driverless and autonomous vehicle technologies.