Baidu to extend self-driving tests to residents of a Hong Kong neighborhood
The new route will open to the public on October 20.
Chinese internet and AI giant Baidu is expanding a test of its self-driving ride-hailing service Apollo Go (蘿蔔快跑) with a new route in Hong Kong. And, for the first time, residents of a Hong Kong neighborhood will be able to try the service, according to the Transport Department and a company announcement published in unwire.hk.
The test will take place from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3 in Tung Chung, on Hong Kong's Lantau island. The route will run from Yat Tung Estate (逸東邨) to a Sheraton hotel and back, a ride of about 15 minutes. A backup operator will still sit in each car, with remote backup operators also taking part.
Members of the Islands District Council (離島區議會) will get first crack at the service on Oct. 20, with local residents following one day later. Councillors will distribute 540 ride tickets to residents, according to a Transport Department document reported by HK01.
It's not the first Apollo Go test route in Hong Kong. The North Lantau trial started on Airport Island at the end of 2024. In February the department extended Apollo Go's routes to Tung Chung Town Centre and Sunny Bay, covering up to 43.2 km, and raised the number of cars allowed to run at once in Tung Chung from three to eight. In July it approved tests on Airport Island with no backup operator on board.
Baidu calls them Hong Kong's first public autonomous-driving test rides in a residential community.
Sources: unwire.hk, HKSAR Government press release (Transport Department) [1], [2], [3], Apollo Go (Baidu), Baidu (investor relations, Q2 2026 results release)
Editor: Ian Lamont
