Three self-driving taxis, believed to be the first in China, hit the road in Guangzhou on Thursday.

Overseen by one or two experienced drivers each, the taxis, which are an electric SUV model, will run in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center between 14:00 and 16:00 every day in the initial phase.

The time and area for service would be expanded in the future, according to Guangzhou Baiyun Taxi Group Co, which is one of the largest taxi companies in South China and operates the new vehicles.

The drivers monitoring the self-driving taxis had received at least 200 hours of training for their new role.