San Francisco officials have urged California officials not to over-expand robo-taxis permits in the city too quickly. In two letters, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority assures that the potential of autonomous vehicles is exciting, but the driverless vehicles already on the city’s streets, most notably from Cruise, have repeatedly obstructed traffic and even emergency response.
Should the company and competitor Waymo be granted “broad permits,” the negative consequences could soon affect a large percentage of the people who travel the city. The plea is therefore for continued restraint and improvements in the performance of the vehicles.
Several traffic delays
The authority justifies the two objections with the wishes of Cruise and Waymo to extend the current offer to 24 hours on all weekdays. In addition, both companies want the previous limits on the number of vehicles used to be lifted and they want to be able to decide for themselves how many to put on the streets. And finally, they want to be on the road in almost the entire city area; so far, the city center has been officially closed to them.
At the present time, given the data collected so far, this is unreasonable, argues the city authority and lists a number of traffic obstructions, especially for Cruise, for which the vehicles are responsible.
Fled from the police
Since June 2022, the GM subsidiary Cruise has been able to transport people in autonomous taxis through San Francisco for a fee, without anyone having to be behind the wheel for safety reasons. Waymo received such permission in November. Cruise vehicles have since obstructed traffic several times, according to the authority.
Some of the incidents had already become public knowledge: for example, failed Cruise robotic taxis blocked a road in June. In another case, a cruise taxi literally fled from the police. Criticism from the fire brigade is now also listed, saying that in the same month a cruise taxi ran over a water hose that had been used to fight a fire. Something like this happened a few days ago – the fire brigade was only able to stop the vehicle after a window was smashed.
With the letter, San Francisco wants to ensure that no robotic taxis are allowed to drive, especially at times of the day with the greatest volume of traffic and in the city center. According to NBC News, both Cruise and Waymo have already contradicted the city, pointing out, among other things, that there were no life-threatening injuries or even deaths. Letters like those from the authority are part of the administrative process and will continue to be debated. The outcome will not only determine how quickly there will be more robotic taxis in San Francisco, but could also have consequences for other cities, explains NBC News.
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