Shanghai opens more roads for self-driving car tests

The second batch of autonomous driving test roads in Pudong New Area opened Tuesday, with the testing mileage reaching 205 kilometers.

Upon this latest move in Pudong, Shanghai has opened 1,003 roads, or 2,000 km, to conduct autonomous driving tests.

Shi Wei, deputy director of the science and technology information department of the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission, said the expansion of test roads has connected test areas in Jinqiao and the Lingang of the Pudong New Area, covering test scenarios such as highways.

Ever since 2018, Shanghai has created four autonomous driving demonstration areas in eastern Shanghai's Jiading district, southern Shanghai's Fengxian district, as well as Lingang and Jinqiao in Pudong New Area.

Up to now, about 1.22 million hours of autonomous driving tests have been conducted in Shanghai, with the total tested mileage approaching 22.9 million km.

The municipal government of Shanghai also rolled out in November 2022 a set of implementation rules for the demonstration operation of intelligent connected vehicles. According to the rules, the city attempts to seek innovation in smart taxi, smart logistics and smart public transportation. Traditional taxi companies are encouraged to explore new business models and introduce more intelligent service ecosystem at a faster pace.