Baidu and Pony.ai on Thursday announced that they have obtained permits from the Beijing city government to offer driverless rides in an area of 60 square kilometers (23 square miles) in the city’s southeast Yizhuang district. Baidu and Pony.ai will start by operating 10 and four autonomous vehicles, respectively, offering ride-hailing services without a safety driver behind the wheel, although each vehicle will have a monitor in a passenger seat. Guangzhou-based rival WeRide became the first self-driving company to begin testing fully driverless cars in China in July 2020. [CNBC]