Shenzhen’s robotaxis push stirs worry among taxi drivers

Shenzhen is expanding robotaxis to promote autonomous mobility, in a saturated taxi market with about 400,000 licensed drivers earning roughly 13 fares a day; July rules will enable robotaxi tests citywide as operators like Pony.ai and Baidu run pilots, raising concerns among drivers that automation could replace or erode livelihoods even as robotaxis may eventually supplement human drivers in China’s gig economy amid policy aims to address an ageing workforce and a manufacturing shift.