Pony.ai (NASDAQ:PONY), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, has reached a critical milestone in its international commercialization roadmap, receiving regulatory approval on April 7, 2026, to begin "by-invite" autonomous rides in Singapore.
The approval, granted by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA), transitions the company’s local operations into its final testing phase before a full public-facing commercial launch.
Operated in strategic collaboration with ComfortDelGro, the nation’s largest land transport provider, the service will initially be available to a select group of residents in the Punggol district.
The deployment covers a 12-kilometre fixed route through Punggol’s residential and commercial corridors, linking key hubs including Waterway Sunrise, Punggol Plaza, and the Punggol Coast MRT station.
The full loop takes approximately 55 minutes to navigate, but early data suggests the service could save daily commuters up to 15 minutes by providing direct, last-mile connectivity that bypasses traditional multi-leg public transit transfers.
The program is a primary component of Pony.ai’s "dual-engine" strategy, which focuses on scaling autonomous mobility businesses simultaneously across China and key overseas markets.
The partnership with ComfortDelGro has evolved rapidly since a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in July 2024, followed by a joint pilot program in Guangzhou in March 2025.
Under the current phase, trained safety operators will remain behind the wheel of the vehicles.