WUHAN, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Liu Yi is among China’s 7 million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-old Wuhan resident, he started driving part-time this year when construction work slowed in the face of a nationwide glut of unsold apartments.

Now he predicts another crisis as he stands next to his car watching neighbours order driverless taxis.

“Everyone will go hungry,” he said of Wuhan drivers competing against robotaxis from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu (9888.HK)

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declined comment.

Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers globally to face the threat of job loss from artificial intelligence as thousands of robotaxis hit Chinese streets, economists and industry experts said.

Self-driving technology remains experimental but China has moved aggressively to green-light trials compared with the U.S which is quick to launch investigations and suspend approvals after accidents.

At least 19 Chinese cities are running robotaxi and robobus tests, disclosures showed. Seven have approved tests without human-driver monitors by at least five industry leaders: Apollo Go, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX and SAIC Motor (600104.SS)

Apollo Go said in May it planned to deploy 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan by year-end. In 2022, it had forecast it would be operating in 100 cities by 2030.

In a statement issued on Aug. 12, Apollo Go said it expected the transition to autonomous transport in China to be “gradual and well-regulated.”