Baidu (BIDU) said Wednesday its autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, has partnered with PostBus, the public transport operator subsidiary of Swiss Post, to launch an on-demand autonomous mobility service in Switzerland.

Initial fleet testing is expected to begin in three cantons in eastern Switzerland in December, with phased expansion to regular operations by Q1 2027 at the latest, the company said.

The initial test runs, starting in December, will use a pilot fleet for mapping trips without passengers and with safety drivers on board, according to the company.

In H1 2026, pilot operations will expand to a select group of users, still accompanied by safety drivers. Driverless trials are expected to commence later in 2026, paving the way for regular operations to begin, the company said.

"Apollo Go operates a fully driverless fleet of over 1000 vehicles globally, and has accumulated over 200 million autonomous kilometers while maintaining a robust safety record," Baidu said.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.