A major system failure in a fleet of autonomous taxis in Wuhan, China, left passengers stranded in moving traffic, raising fresh concerns about the safety and reliability of driverless vehicle technology.
According to local authorities, more than 100 robotaxis suddenly stopped operating due to a “system malfunction,” with incidents reported across the city late Tuesday evening. No injuries were reported.
The robotaxi service is operated by Baidu through its Apollo Go autonomous driving platform, one of the largest driverless taxi networks in China.
Passengers described alarming moments during the outage. In one case, a rider reported that their vehicle abruptly stopped after a turn, displaying a message indicating a system failure and promising assistance within minutes. When help did not arrive, the passenger activated an emergency SOS function before eventually exiting the vehicle independently.
Authorities confirmed that some passengers were able to safely leave their vehicles, but others remained stuck inside due to safety concerns, as several taxis had halted in the middle of fast-moving lanes on elevated ring roads.
Police said they began receiving reports around 9 p.m., with multiple passengers requiring assistance. Investigation into the cause of the malfunction is ongoing.
This marks the first reported large-scale shutdown of robotaxis in China. Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere, including a previous disruption involving autonomous vehicles in San Francisco due to a power outage.
Baidu currently operates more than 1,000 robotaxis, primarily in China, and has been expanding its Apollo Go service internationally, including recent launches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with plans to enter European markets.
The incident is expected to intensify scrutiny on autonomous vehicle systems as companies race to scale driverless transport globally.
