Baidu Robotaxis Stall in Mass Wuhan System Failure

A mass system failure paralyzed more than 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis in Wuhan, China, on the night of March 31, 2026. The outage began around 8:57 p.m. local time, causing driverless vehicles to freeze abruptly in active traffic, including the middle lanes of elevated ring roads and highway fast lanes.

Passengers remained trapped inside some vehicles for up to two hours. Reports indicate that in-car SOS buttons and customer service hotlines were non-functional, forcing some riders to evacuate independently while others waited for emergency services. The stalls caused widespread congestion and several rear-end collisions, though no injuries or fatalities were reported.

The Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau's Traffic Management Bureau coordinated with Apollo Go staff to evacuate passengers and tow the vehicles. Local police confirmed that preliminary findings attribute the incident to system malfunctions. Following the event, Apollo Go implemented a citywide suspension of operations in Wuhan before gradually resuming service.

Baidu has not provided a detailed explanation for the failure. The incident marks the first reported mass shutdown of robotaxis in China and has reignited safety concerns regarding autonomous vehicle reliability. This occurs as Baidu seeks to expand its operations into the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Middle East.