Almaty, 25 October. The first commercial driverless taxi rides in Almaty are planned for 2027: in the first stage three cars will operate in the Golden Square area and can be ordered through the Yandex Go app, the Almaty digitalisation department said in reply to a request from BES.media.
Since 24 September, cars with autonomous driving systems have been driving around the city, though test drivers are still at the wheel: they collect data on markings, lanes, signs, traffic lights and permitted manoeuvres for a high-precision digital map. The department did not say how many kilometres the test cars have covered; there have been no incidents, it said. Autonomous driving with passengers has not yet been tested.
In the first stage a test driver will sit in the car while an AI-based system drives. Remote operators in Kazakhstan will monitor the cars: they will be able to change routes, contact passengers, switch the car on and off and call emergency services, but not steer remotely. The exact timing, the department stressed, depends on test results.
At first, a driverless taxi will still have a driver; he will simply be called a tester.
What it means: Almaty is preparing Kazakhstan's first driverless taxi zone: while the city's digital map is being built, the cars will not carry passengers before 2027.
Who benefits: Yandex Go gets into the driverless transport market in Kazakhstan. The city gets a test bed for digital technology. Who is liable for damage in a driverless crash is not set out in detail in the department's reply.
Background: The Golden Square is the informal name for central Almaty. Driverless taxis already operate in several cities in the US, China and Russia; for Kazakhstan this is the first such project.
