A System Failure Caused Over 100 Baidu Apollo Go Robotaxis to Stall Mid-Road in Wuhan, Trapping Some Passengers for Two Hours

A system failure caused at least 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis to simultaneously stop in the middle of roads in Wuhan on Tuesday night, blocking traffic and leaving some passengers hesitant to exit due to heavy surrounding traffic, with local media reporting some riders were trapped for nearly two hours before police assisted. No injuries were reported and passengers were able to exit safely, though the cause remains under investigation. The incident reignited safety concerns about China's fast-growing robotaxi sector, coming after an Apollo Go vehicle fell into a construction pit in Chongqing last August and a Pony.ai car caught fire in Beijing in May, and mirrors a similar incident in San Francisco where a citywide power outage caused Waymo robotaxis to stall and snarl traffic late last year.