ISTANBUL

A robotaxi malfunction in Wuhan left passengers stranded after vehicles operated by Chinese tech company Baidu broke down during heavy traffic on Tuesday evening, the South China Morning Post reported.

The disruption, involving the company’s Apollo Go autonomous fleet, brought vehicles to a halt mid-road and affected services across the city.

Calls to local traffic police surged shortly after 8.57 pm (1257 GMT) as multiple robotaxis stopped on busy highways.

Emergency responders and Apollo Go staff were dispatched to assist stranded passengers, though no injuries were reported.

Images shared online showed stalled vehicles blocking elevated expressways along Wuhan’s ring roads, worsening congestion and triggering several minor rear-end collisions.

Although passengers were able to open the doors, dense rush-hour traffic made it unsafe to exit onto the roads.

Authorities said the incident was likely caused by a system failure, according to China Daily.

Baidu launched its Apollo Go service in 2021 and expanded operations to Wuhan in 2022 as part of the city’s early push to develop smart infrastructure and connected vehicle technology.