A 5G bus manufactured by Xiamen King Long United Automobile Industry Co debuts at the China Beijing International Exhibition of Buses, Trucks & Components 2019 on May 30. [Photo/Fujian Daily]

A 5G bus manufactured by Xiamen King Long United Automobile Industry Co debuted at the China Beijing International Exhibition of Buses, Trucks & Components 2019 (also known as Bus & Truck Expo 2019) on May 30.

The bus, which relies on 5G, allows high-bandwidth, low-latency, high-reliability communications between the vehicle and traffic infrastructure, including traffic lights, bus stations and pedestrians, enabling a smoother and much safer flow of traffic.

According to Yan Weibing, deputy head of the product planning at King Long, 50 such buses shall be put into use in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province by the end of this year.

The bus epitomizes King Long Motor Group's efforts to push forward the in-depth integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and so on, with the automobile industry.

King Long Motor Group is the parent company of Xiamen King Long United Automobile Industry Co, Xiamen Golden Dragon Bus Co and Higer Bus Co.

The carmaker has also joined forces with Baidu Inc to develop Apolong, China's first driverless electric microbus, which has been hit the market in 21 regions in China. The vehicle, 4.3 meters long and 2 meters wide, has fit eight seats and six standing passengers and can run more than 100 kilometers on a single charge.

At the expo, a driverless electric mini-bus jointly designed by Xiamen Golden Dragon Bus Co and the UK-based DCA became a highlight of the event.

The bus, called Star, has successfully integrated the strengths of both commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. Measuring 6 meters in length, it offers one-step access and a host of travel comforts for passengers. So far, Golden Dragon autonomous driving buses have been put into trial operation in Shanghai, Xiamen, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Changzhou, and Pingtan. They have also made their way to Singapore and Israel, among other countries.