(Yicai Global) Aug. 25 -- Baidu, the Chinese internet giant that is investing heavily in autonomous driving, has obtained permission from the Beijing government to start carrying passengers as it enters the second phase of its self-driving vehicle tests in the capital city.

Powered by Baidu's autonomous driving platform Apollo, the self-driving vehicles, which have a driver present, can now start ferrying passengers across 700 kilometers of test roads in the capital's Yizhuang, Haidian, Shunyi and other districts. The Beijing-based firm will also explore workable models for the large-scale deployment of driverless vehicles.

In December last year, Baidu became the first company to receive permits to test self-driving vehicles in Beijing while accompanied by a driver. Since then, the firm's test driving team has driven more than 519,000 kilometers.

Editor: Kim Taylor