Suzhou High-speed Rail New Town (HSR), Jiangsu Dayun Group and T3 Chuxing has unveiled China’s first operation alliance for autonomous driving ecosystem in Suzhou.

The alliance consists of 32 stakeholders across all sectors. Located in northern Suzhou, HSR is a booming new area thriving on the high-speed railway network and innovation-driven growth. T3 Chuxing is a ride-hailing platform developed by three state-backed automakers.

The association will promote the scale-up and commercialization of autonomous driving solutions in Suzhou, the first domestic city to comprehensively embrace the new technology.

At the end of October last year, HSR became the first in China to offer a regular 5G-powered unmanned bus service for 4 kilometers, the longest line of its kind in China. The minibus has nine passenger seats, makes five stops, and runs at speeds between 20 and 50 km per hour.

A full-fledged industrial chain of Internet of vehicles (IoV) is taking shape in HSR and involves development in over 30 fields, including some at the world-leading levels. HSR has opened 8.4 km of urban roads for self-driving open tests. It is also building a 55km road to support more sophisticated tests. By 2022, the area will complete renovation of 300 km of road and provide rich scenarios to develop autonomous driving technologies, such as expressways, transportation hubs and tunnels.

In the first half of 2021, Suzhou's unmanned taxis will also conduct trial operation on a large scale in HSR. It’s expected that the taxi fare will fall amid the increasing application of self-driving.

Contact us at english@jschina.com.cn