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Beijing Unveils Plans to Boost Driverless Vehicle Use in Capital

FILE PHOTO: A safety driver monitors a Lexus vehicle equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving system as the car drives on a road during a test event, in Beijing, China May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A safety driver monitors a Lexus vehicle equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving system as the car drives on a road during a test event, in Beijing, China May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
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Beijing Unveils Plans to Boost Driverless Vehicle Use in Capital

FILE PHOTO: A safety driver monitors a Lexus vehicle equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving system as the car drives on a road during a test event, in Beijing, China May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A safety driver monitors a Lexus vehicle equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving system as the car drives on a road during a test event, in Beijing, China May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

China's capital Beijing passed new regulations on Tuesday to encourage autonomous driving technology in the city, with authorities planning to eventually allow driverless public buses and taxis.
Autonomous vehicles that pass road testing and safety assessments will be allowed to apply for road trials, the state-backed Beijing Daily newspaper reported, which said the new regulations take effect from April 1, Reuters reported.
The city supports the use of autonomous vehicles for private cars, urban buses, trams and taxis, it said, adding that it wants to encourage the construction of intelligent road infrastructure to support such transport.
In a separate notice published on Monday, the central Chinese city of Wuhan also said it had approved regulations to promote the development of intelligent connected vehicles.
Chinese authorities have been aggressively greenlighting trials for self-driving technology with at least 19 cities conducting robotaxi and robobus tests, Reuters reported in August.
Companies with large robotaxi fleets in use in China include Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu, which plans to deploy 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan by end-2024.
Pony.ai, which floated in the US market in November, plans to expand its robotaxi fleet nationwide to over 1,000 by 2026 from 250 this year.
Other firms exploring robotaxi opportunities in the world's largest auto market include WeRide, AutoX and SAIC Motor.
US EV giant Tesla also aims to bring full self-driving (FSD) to China in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval, and has said it will start producing its own robotaxi in 2026.

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Volunteers Clean Up Bali's Beach from 'Worst' Monsoon-driven Trash

Plastic waste and other garbage is cleared from a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency on Indonesia's Bali island. SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP
Plastic waste and other garbage is cleared from a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency on Indonesia's Bali island. SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP
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Volunteers Clean Up Bali's Beach from 'Worst' Monsoon-driven Trash

Plastic waste and other garbage is cleared from a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency on Indonesia's Bali island. SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP
Plastic waste and other garbage is cleared from a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency on Indonesia's Bali island. SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP

Hundreds of volunteers joined a cleanup in Bali, Indonesia, Saturday as monsoon rains brought what an activist described as "the worst" waves of plastic waste to hit its tourist-favored beaches.
The Southeast Asian nation is one of the world's biggest contributors of plastic pollution and marine debris, with annual monsoon rains and winds sweeping mountains of plastic waste from its cities and rivers into the ocean.
Some of it drifts hundreds of kilometers before washing up on the beaches on the holiday island -- especially between November and March, AFP said.
Across Kedonganan beach in the south of the island, plastic cups, straws, cutlery, and empty coffee sachets were scattered across the sand, mixed with plant and wood debris.
Tons of garbage
Around 600 volunteers, including local residents, hospitality workers, and tourists, braved a rainy morning to pick up the waste by hand before filling hundreds of large sacks.
The Environmental NGO Sungai Watch called it "the worst" plastic waste pollution to wash ashore in Bali.
"We have never seen plastics a meter thick in the sand. In just six days of cleanup, we collected 25 tons, which is a record for us," said Sungai Watch founder Gary Bencheghib.
Bencheghib said an audit found most of the plastic waste came from cities on neighboring Java, Indonesia's most-populated island.

Tatiana Komelova, a Russian tourist volunteer, said the sight of the pollution shocked her, and motivated her to reduce the use of plastic in her daily life.

"I knew the problem existed, but I didn't know it was this bad," she said.

"I use plastic products a lot in my life, and now I try to reduce it as much as possible."