Baidu's Apollo Go Robotaxis Paralyzed in Wuhan, Stranding Passengers

A large-scale malfunction hit Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing vehicles in Wuhan yesterday evening, leaving multiple passengers stranded after the vehicles came to an abrupt halt during operation.

A man surnamed Lu said around 10:40pm he had been trapped inside an Apollo Go vehicle for nearly two hours. "The car stopped right in the middle of the Third Ring Road, with large trucks speeding past on both sides," Lu said, adding that the in-vehicle SOS system was useless. "I couldn't get through when we were stuck in the middle of the road. I was terrified."

A video provided by Lu showed repeated calls to the number on the rear-seat screen being automatically hung up. He eventually reached customer service via a 400 hotline and was told a specialist would be sent. "I waited for nearly an hour, but no one showed up," he said. He then called the police. Traffic officers arrived with an Apollo Go driver around 11pm, escorting him off the elevated road.

Another passenger, a woman surnamed Zhou, said she boarded a robotaxi around 8:30pm. "The car kept prompting that there was a problem and advised me not to open the door. It suddenly stopped after more than 10 minutes," Zhou said. Stranded on an elevated road, she dared not get out. "I called the in-vehicle emergency contact and the app customer service for a long time before someone answered. They said they would send a specialist, but no one came after an hour and a half. It felt very unreliable."

Zhou was eventually rescued by passing traffic police. She said she was still charged the full fare, and customer service did not mention any compensation.

Many people in Wuhan reported the "collective paralysis" of Apollo Go vehicles on social media last night, citing inaccessible hotlines and delayed responses.

When reached for comment, an Apollo Go customer service representative said they could only look into the issue if provided with a vehicle number and claimed no knowledge of the widespread malfunction. As of press time, Baidu had not issued any official statement.

Wuhan traffic police said in a notice that the malfunction was initially determined to be a system failure. No casualties were reported, and the cause is under investigation.

Apollo Go is Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing platform. As of October 2025, its global testing and operation mileage exceeded 240 million kilometers, with over 140 million kilometers driven without a safety operator. The service operates in 22 cities and has completed more than 17 million rides.