Driverless Taxis Get 24/7 Permission But Are They Really Ready?

No sooner than California regulators had given permission for driverless robotaxi companies to operate 24/7 throughout San Francisco, some 10 autonomous Cruise taxis had suddenly stopped causing traffic jams.

Witnesses said that the Cruise cars were blocking intersections last Friday evening for about 15 minutes, causing concerns that driverless cars could block emergency vehicles from getting into the area.

In its defense, Cruise replied on X, explaining that a music festival “posed wireless bandwidth restrictions causing delayed connectivity to our vehicles.” The company added that it’s “investigating and working on solutions to prevent this from happening again.”

So how did these self-driving taxis gain permission to operate all hours of the day? After several hours of public testimony last week, the California Public Utilities Commission granted permits to allow both Cruise and Waymo to charge for rides around the clock in San Francisco. 

But after the Friday night ‘meltdown,’ many residents are scratching their heads wondering if we are ready for such vehicles and querying if the CPUC Commissioner John Reynolds should rethink his recent statement—“I do believe in the potential of this technology to increase safety on the roadways.”

Previous permits from the CPUC allowed Cruise to charge for rides between 10 pm to 6 am without a safety driver present, and at any time with a driver present. Waymo on the other hand, was only allowed to charge for rides with a safety driver.

At a CPUC hearing last Monday, fire chief Jeanine Nicholson said the response times for Cruise and Waymo to retrieve stalled vehicles are too long, saying “It is the responsibility of the autonomous vehicle companies to not have them impact us in the first place.” 

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) reported nearly 600 known incidents involving driverless vehicles in San Francisco since June 2022. These incidents include a variety of driving behaviors, like stopping unexpectedly, collisions, and more.

Meanwhile, fire officials said they’ve counted 55 incidents involving self-driving cars interfering with emergency responders this year.

OUR THOUGHTS

We think it’s still a bit early to unleash driverless taxis onto public roads, especially if they’re going to stop and interfere with traffic and emergency vehicles with such frequency. Neither company specified how many they would deploy with the new permits, but they said the ramp-up would be incremental. But if you’re a robotaxi advocate and enjoy the novelty of a driverless taxi then Waymo says it will begin charging for fully driverless rides in San Francisco in the coming weeks, and that’s 24/7.

More Articles for You

New Zeekr 009 Grand Collector’s Edition Boasts Gold-Plated Hubcaps

If you thought the Lexus LM was luxurious, wait till you get a load of the latest fully electric Zeekr …

Porsche 911 GT3 Smashes Nurburgring Lap Record

Porsche has just smashed another Nürburgring record, this time winning the title of fastest production car to lap the Green …

New Nissan Leaf Delivers Competitive Range Of Over 300 Miles

When the Leaf debuted in 2010, it took home the North American and World Car of the Year awards. That’s …

New Leapmotor B10 And C10 To Debut In Malaysia

According to local media reports, Stellantis Malaysia intends to debut several Leapmotor models in Malaysia shortly, including the B10 and …

Kia Is Recognized As Newsweek’s ‘Sustainability Disruptor Of The Year’ 

Plastic pollution on land and sea is a major environmental issue. Microplastics have been found in every ocean, even in …

BYD Sealion 7 Captures 5-Star Rating On Euro NCAP

BYD’s Atto 3 electric vehicle may have received an unsatisfactory safety rating last year for its driver-assistance tests, but this …