The Luobo Kuaipao currently operating in Wuhan is both the same as and yet different from the one that has been discussed as potentially disrupting the taxi industry.

Baidu's autonomous taxi service, "Luobo Kuaipao," has become so popular that it seems almost everyone is participating.

People from all walks of life have passionately expressed their opinions and stances. It is said that in the past few months, hundreds of complaints against Luobo Kuaipao have flooded the authorities, ranging from causing traffic congestion to stealing drivers' livelihoods.

Once again, humans and machines are placed on opposing sides. Many prominent figures have previously advised caution in choosing fields of study and careers. Huawei's Meng Wanzhou suggested not choosing professions that compete with machines, as humans are no match for them.

In the epicenter of the storm, Wuhan, how is Luobo Kuaipao actually operating, and what do local drivers think of it? Last weekend, we traveled to Wuhan to experience Luobo Kuaipao firsthand and chat with a dozen local drivers.

Compared to the heated reactions from outside, such as a Hangzhou driver who indignantly believed that Luobo Kuaipao should not be allowed to steal drivers' jobs, the dozen Wuhan drivers we encountered responded more calmly and indifferently.

This contrast surprised us. Here are the drivers' voices and feedback we heard:

01

Wuhan Drivers React Less Intensely

Luobo Kuaipao has sparked anxiety among many about autonomous vehicles replacing ride-hailing drivers. A Hangzhou driver indignantly complained that Luobo Kuaipao's operating range must be restricted, or many drivers will lose their livelihoods.

We initially thought that in Wuhan, the epicenter of the storm, taxi and ride-hailing drivers would have a very direct and intense attitude towards Luobo Kuaipao. However, after chatting with drivers during taxi rides over two days in Wuhan, we found their attitudes to be more moderate than expected. Their attitudes can be broadly categorized as follows:

Voice 1: Technological maturity takes time and will not have a fatal impact within two years

The technology is not yet mature, which is a common point mentioned by many drivers. "Within two years, it should not have a very fatal impact on our business," said a taxi driver. Whether due to Luobo Kuaipao's operational area restrictions or costs, it cannot be fully rolled out overnight.

"Luobo Kuaipao currently operates mostly on main roads in areas with fewer people and cars, and it cannot enter residential areas, let alone complex locations like train stations and airports," observed multiple drivers. Its operational areas are still relatively limited, restricted to major roads, and it is difficult for it to enter places with high foot traffic and demand in the short term.

Moreover, its current rule of fixed pickup and drop-off points requires passengers to walk to designated locations, which is time-consuming and laborious, limiting some people from using it frequently. After all, people are now more accustomed to ordering a car from home and having the driver wait for them in the residential area when they come downstairs.

And the current "low prices" offered by Luobo Kuaipao, in the opinion of many practitioners, cannot remain low indefinitely due to cost considerations.

"Currently, it does have some competition in those surrounding development zones, which inadvertently pushes some ride-hailing vehicles to the city center," a ride-hailing driver told me. But overall, it is still difficult to say that it will "completely replace ride-hailing," especially in densely populated and complex downtown areas where it is hard to say it will steal business.

Voice 2: It's a temporary transition, and they don't care much about the impact

In recent years, ride-hailing drivers, along with food delivery and courier workers, have been among the three industries with the highest turnover of employees. Objectively, some people see ride-hailing as a transitional job, and they may be among the least anxious about Luobo Kuaipao among the millions of taxi and ride-hailing drivers.

Three or four of the drivers we spoke with were temporary transitions, and they generally responded indifferently. "It doesn't affect me much because I don't consider it my main job, and I won't keep doing it forever, so I don't worry about it much. But for those who do it full-time, I think the impact will be significant, especially since autonomous driving is the trend," said a ride-hailing driver who had entered the industry less than two weeks ago. Before that, he worked at a party house in Wuhan but lost his job over a month ago.

Interestingly, this young driver in his twenties was also among the first to experience autonomous taxis. Last summer, he took several rides on Luobo Kuaipao in Wuhan's Economic Development Zone, which was the first to trial the service. "There were no buses or subways near where I worked, and it took half an hour to walk to my dormitory, so it was very convenient to take Luobo to and from work for just over two yuan for a few kilometers," he said.

(Photo/Digital Intelligence Frontline)

Voice 3: Compared to Luobo Kuaipao, the oversaturated ride-hailing market is more worrying

Multiple ride-hailing/taxi drivers mentioned that compared to the current 400+ Luobo Kuaipao vehicles, their greater competitive pressure comes from the already saturated but still increasing number of ride-hailing drivers.

Due to relatively low barriers to entry, ride-hailing has been a preferred choice for many people to support their families or even as a side hustle in recent years.

Since the beginning of this year, many places across the country have issued risk warnings for the ride-hailing industry, publicly reminding local authorities that ride-hailing capacity is already saturated. Data from the Ministry of Transport also shows that as of the end of December 2023, the number of registered ride-hailing drivers reached 6.572 million, exceeding 6.5 million for the first time. In 2023 alone, the number of new ride-hailing drivers reached 1.482 million.

More than half of the ten drivers I spoke with had entered or re-entered the market in the past one to two years. Among them, some had previously driven taxis but later switched to vehicle maintenance and recently returned to driving taxis due to the rapid development of new energy electric vehicles making the industry less viable; others had driven large vehicles and hoped to switch to the less demanding ride-hailing; still, others had temporarily entered the ride-hailing market as a transition due to business losses, layoffs, etc.

"Especially since May, there have been more and more cars on the road, and it's not as good as last year," ride-hailing driver Mr. Li told me. He even developed a method to judge whether a vehicle on the road is a ride-hailing car: "Basically, if it's a Hongqi, BYD, Dongfeng, or GAC Trumpchi, there's a high probability it's a ride-hailing car."

With more mouths to feed and less food, this has led to even fiercer competition in the ride-hailing/taxi market in recent years. Multiple drivers told me that they have had to increase their working hours due to intensifying competition this year.

"It's like you have to grind out the time now. Before, running for 12 or 10 hours could earn over 500 yuan, but now you have to run for 14 or 15 hours to earn that much," said a ride-hailing driver. According to income figures provided by multiple ride-hailing drivers, earning an average of 30 yuan per hour is a common situation.

This is before deducting vehicle costs such as charging/fuel expenses. "Since I don't own a car, I have to deduct 3500 yuan per month for rent, plus charging, meals, etc. My monthly income must exceed 10,000 yuan, or else it's not worth it. I set my goal at 400 yuan per day; if I don't reach it, I don't go home," said a ride-hailing driver.

Taxi drivers have it even harder. "I now run one shift for 10 hours and earn over 300 yuan," said a taxi driver. Another taxi driver who has been driving for over 20 years said, "There are many empty taxis on the road now, and sometimes we can't get a fare for an hour or so."

Voice 4: There is an impact, but individuals cannot resist market trends

In fact, when asked about the widely discussed question of whether Luobo Kuaipao will steal ride-hailing/taxi business, multiple drivers would invariably mention one point: "There will definitely be an impact, but it's not a matter of worrying or not worrying; it's just the market trend." One taxi driver compared it to people previously putting all their money in the bank but now commonly keeping some in Alipay or WeChat Pay as well.

And this impact is more likely to be subtle and gradual rather than sudden and drastic. For example, while some drivers may not immediately feel a significant income decline due to Luobo Kuaipao, they have started to speculate whether the recent decline in "mileage fees" on ride-hailing platforms is related to the potential competition from Luobo Kuaipao. "Mileage fees are usually around two yuan per kilometer, but in recent days, the mileage fees we receive through Gaode are significantly lower than before, at just over one yuan per kilometer," said a ride-hailing driver.

Some drivers are also thinking that since the general trend cannot be stopped, they must embrace new technologies. A taxi driver with over 20 years of experience told me that he quite favors Tesla's FSD entering the market to compete, "so that one company doesn't dominate and monopolize."

Other drivers try to look at the matter more optimistically, hoping that they can buy such a car in the future, use it for their own purposes when not working, and let it take orders to earn money for them during idle times.

Voice 5: Taxis are more vulnerable than ride-hailing, and non-compliant drivers are more susceptible to impact

Although both are inevitably impacted to some extent, multiple practitioners told me that taxis may be more susceptible than ride-hailing.

On the one hand, the increase in supply has further increased the competitive pressure faced by taxi drivers. Currently, many taxi drivers now receive orders through aggregated platforms with lower commission rates than ride-hailing, "usually around 20-30% for ride-hailing and 8% for taxis," said a taxi driver. However, according to taxi drivers, they receive relatively fewer orders, and most of them are small ones. In addition, taxi drivers generally reported higher investment and operating costs than ride-hailing drivers.

On the other hand, multiple practitioners observed that when consumers currently order Luobo Kuaipao, they tend to make more short-distance, small orders, which happen to be an important source of income for taxis.

Beyond taxis, some ride-hailing drivers believe that with Baidu's plan to deploy 1,000 autonomous vehicles in Wuhan within the year, Luobo Kuaipao will have an even greater impact next year, and single-certificate drivers will be more quickly affected than double-certificate drivers.

Currently, ride-hailing industry practitioners are required to hold licenses, including vehicle licenses and driver licenses. Only those with both "vehicle licenses + driver licenses" are considered compliant operators, and national transportation authorities also publish compliance rate indicators for different cities. A driver license alone is considered a single certificate, and this driver believes that "if Luobo comes to steal business, the platform will definitely eliminate single-certificate drivers first before considering the future market."

02

Field Experience: Many Advantages but Prominent Disadvantages

At around 10:40 pm on July 12, as I was sitting in a taxi from Wuhan Railway Station to Wuhan's Optics Valley, the driver in front suddenly pointed to a car not far ahead and reminded me, "That's Luobo, see? No license plate. It's already the sixth-generation car." When I looked up, it was turning right and soon disappeared from sight.

This was my first encounter with Luobo Kuaipao. Due to Wuhan issuing an orange rainstorm warning, many stations were temporarily closed, and it wasn't until July 14 that I finally rode Luobo Kuaipao for the first time. I tried ordering Luobo Kuaipao in the Optics Valley, South Lake, Baishazhou, and Zhuankou districts of Hongshan District and Caidian District, and ultimately had two successful rides.

Just as some taxi drivers believe it still has significant limitations and currently has a relatively small impact, we also evaluated Luobo Kuaipao from various angles such as difficulty in hailing, cost, and experience. As a new phenomenon, it has many advantages but equally obvious disadvantages.

Limited operating scope, can only travel on main roads

Wuhan is not the first city Luobo Kuaipao entered. It officially landed in Wuhan's Economic Development Zone in May 2022, nearly three years later than Changsha and over a year later than Beijing, but Wuhan is currently the fastest-expanding and most widely covered city.

From an operational perspective, with Luobo Kuaipao crossing the Yangtze River's Yangsigang Bridge and Baishazhou Bridge in Wuhan on February 27 of this year, completing the "first crossing of the Yangtze River" in autonomous driving, public information claims that it can now provide services in approximately 3,000 square kilometers of Wuhan, from north to south of the Yangtze River.

Luobo Kuaipao's ride-hailing interface shows that its operating areas have basically covered Wuhan's major urban districts, including Hanyang, Qiaokou, Dongxihu, Caidian, Hongshan, Wuchang, and Jiangxia, forming an irregular large trapezoid. In some areas, Luobo Kuaipao also provides 7*24-hour uninterrupted service.

There are also some restrictions on its travel range. Currently, there are still many areas in Wuhan's urban roads where Luobo Kuaipao cannot travel. It can only travel on main roads and has even been known to take detours, resulting in "sky-high orders."

(Image source: Xiaohongshu user)

Difficult to hail, long waiting times, uncertain pickup points

Although Luobo Kuaipao has a relatively extensive operating range in Wuhan, it is actually not easy to hail, and there are many inconveniences in the experience.

First, it cannot stop at residential entrances, and passengers need to walk to fixed parking spots to board and alight. This is almost a common complaint among all those who have experienced Luobo Kuaipao, with some netizens even saying, "For a total of five kilometers, I have to walk 1.5 kilometers."

My first ride was no exception. The nearest pickup point was about 300 meters away, and it took me seven or eight minutes to reach the correct location due to unfamiliar roads.

Second, the waiting time is relatively long, with significant differences at different times and locations, resulting in low certainty.

At around 9 am, I tried to hail a Luobo Kuaipao from a nearby station on Guanggu Sixth Road to Wuhan East Railway Station. It took me over three minutes to successfully order a ride, but the car arrived after 12 minutes.

From 1 pm to 4 pm, I made seven attempts to hail a ride in the South Lake, Baishazhou, and Zhuankou districts, selecting different stations, and only succeeded once. In most cases, the selected stations showed three to five orders in the queue, with estimated waiting times of up to 30-40 minutes.

Compared to ride-hailing apps that provide minute- or second-level pickups, Luobo Kuaipao seems more suitable for occasions where time is not of the essence.

Third, the drop-off points are uncertain, and passengers must "meet the car" rather than the car meeting them.

For example, during my first ride, based on experience, I waited for the car on the side road, but the "Luobo Kuaipao" stopped on the main road; during the second ride, even though there was only a main road, it reached a certain point and stopped, unable to accommodate the passenger's position, requiring the person to quickly run over to get on the car. Some netizens complained: "Now we have to run to catch it, that 'carrot' is actually us."

The price is lower than traditional ride-hailing services, but not as cheap as imagined.

In most cases, the price of "Luobo Kuaipao" is cheaper than ride-hailing services and taxis, but not everyone can get the "super low prices" advertised online.

For instance, my first ride was 11.9 kilometers long, and "Luobo Kuaipao" estimated it would take 27 minutes. After a discount of 35.58 yuan, the price was 19.15 yuan. For the same distance, the price displayed on the Gaode aggregation platform for an economy ride-hailing service or taxi was 23-24 yuan, while a more affordable special offer ride could reach 19.1-20 yuan, with an estimated arrival time of 21 minutes.

With additional discount coupons, the price of "Luobo Kuaipao" is indeed much lower. However, based on my experience, the large discount coupons that were reportedly frequently distributed before are now hard to come by.

After registering as a new user with two mobile numbers, I found that the coupon collection activity on "Luobo Kuaipao" has a high threshold. Users in non-operational areas cannot assist in collecting coupons. My friend in Shanghai tried to help me but was prompted, "Your city currently cannot participate in this assistance."

There are some paid discount coupons, such as 14 yuan for two 90% off cards. For my second ride, I used a coupon that provided a maximum discount of 10 yuan, making the final payment for a 6.9-kilometer ride only 2.5 yuan, much lower than the usual 14 yuan for a regular ride-hailing service. However, factoring in the 7 yuan cost of the discount coupon, the overall discount is not very significant.

Currently, there are still many areas in Wuhan where "Luobo Kuaipao" cannot operate on city roads. As a result, there have been cases where a scheduled 2-kilometer journey ended up taking a detour of over 60 kilometers, with the fare exceeding 100 yuan.

The Driving Speed is a Bit Slow, Can't Handle Complex Road Conditions Well

The pros and cons of "Luobo Kuaipao" are quite evident; its comfort and freedom are satisfying, but it is indeed slow.

After entering the last four digits of your phone number on the fixed screen beside the car window to verify your identity, you can open the door and get in. A voice prompt will guide you until you fasten your seatbelt and then click to confirm departure. During the journey, the car drives steadily, and passengers can freely use the screen to play music, adjust the air conditioning temperature, view the driving route, and see the surrounding scene, making the in-car experience highly predictable. It's also easy to alight from the car upon reaching the destination.

Due to its excessive rule-following, it can be a bit "silly" (meaning dumb or awkward) and relatively slow. Sometimes it cannot handle relatively complex road conditions. For example, during my experience, a large truck ahead reversed and collided with a utility pole on the street. "Luobo Kuaipao" judged that it couldn't navigate through the limited space around the truck and thus stopped in place. This caused a temporary traffic jam in the entire area, with vehicles behind honking several times. It only proceeded after the truck in front cleared more space.

During my two experiences, the first ride had a maximum speed of 52 km/h. The second ride, due to the empty and uninhabited road, reached a maximum speed of 62 km/h. However, whenever there were people around the sidewalks, "Luobo Kuaipao" would slow down to around 20 km/h to pass through slowly.

Interestingly, drivers in Wuhan seem to be quite annoyed by its slow speed, complaining that it often "obstructs traffic." “I often encounter it in Baishazhou and Hanyang. It's okay in places without traffic, but in congested areas, if you encounter it, it's really frustrating. It doesn't move for a long time, so I always try to stay far away from it and avoid being on the same road,” a local Wuhan driver told me.

Young People are Trying it Out; Every Child in Wuhan Knows About Luobo Kuaipao

It can be observed that as the recent popularity of Luobo Kuaipao has surged, the number of people taking Luobo Kuaipao rides is rapidly increasing. Just one minute after I finished my first ride and got off, another Luobo Kuaipao carrying a young couple stopped at the same station.

According to several local drivers, the current passengers of Luobo Kuaipao are predominantly young people. Especially during the summer vacation, a large number of people are taking rides for the experience, mostly young people and parents with children. "Now, many kids know about the Luobo car," said one driver.

To some extent, the much-debated Luobo Kuaipao is still not seen as a high-tech disruptor by ordinary Wuhan residents.

So, what are people discussing when they talk about "Luobo Kuaipao" nowadays? Possibly, apart from the narrative focusing on AI advancements, people are increasingly concerned with the ethical issues between humans and machines, and the relationship between machines and human jobs. This involves major questions about how to position oneself, what career to choose, and how to make a living in an era of high intelligence. After all, this day is drawing nearer and nearer.