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Robotaxis operated by Baidu\u2019s Apollo Go stalled throughout Wuhan, China, in some cases trapping passengers for up to two hours, according to multiple media reports as well as numerous video and social media posts.<\/p>\n
Baidu has not shared what caused the widespread outage. However, local police said it was a \u201csystem failure\u201d that affected at least 100 robotaxis, Reuters reported<\/a>. The unknown technical error caused robotaxis to suddenly freeze \u2014 and sometimes in dangerous spots such as the fast lane of roadways, according to Wired<\/a>. Police are still investigating the matter.<\/p>\n Baidu did not respond to TechCrunch\u2019s emailed request for comment. <\/p>\n Baidu is one of the largest robotaxi operators in China and has expanded to the Middle East. Last year, the company said it planned to deploy a fleet of more than 1,000 autonomous vehicles in\u00a0Dubai\u00a0over the next few years. <\/p>\n The recent Baidu outage is the latest incident to raise questions about the safety of robotaxis and their impact on local communities. And it\u2019s not just isolated to China. A widespread power outage<\/a> in California last December wiped out traffic lights, causing Waymo vehicles to become stuck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n