Lyft will use Freenow, the German taxi and mobility app it acquired, to handle the local booking layer when public rides begin. Lyft will use Freenow, the German taxi and mobility app it acquired, to handle the local booking layer when public rides begin. It also gives Baidu a chance to prove that Chinese autonomous technology can travel outside China at a time when Chinese EVs and software platforms are under closer political scrutiny. Europe is becoming a battleground for robotaxi partnerships, and Baidu is no longer watching from the sidelines. If the tests go well, London could become one of the places where the next phase of autonomous transport becomes visible to everyday users.