San Francisco city officials have called for a slowdown or halt of the expansion of driverless taxi services provided by Cruise and Waymo. The San Francisco Transportation Authority (SFTA) has expressed their concern over the recent safety incidents involving these vehicles, which have interfered with emergency responders and blocked traffic. The SFTA officials wrote to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) stating that unlimited expansion of these services would be “unreasonable” and suggested limited deployments with incremental expansions would be a better approach for building public trust and industry success.
Cruise, owned by GM, and Alphabet’s Waymo currently operate fully driverless taxi services in the city, with Cruise being allowed to charge for rides during certain hours. However, there have been several incidents involving these vehicles, including one in which Cruise vehicles interfered with emergency responders and another in which a small fleet of Cruise robotaxis blocked traffic. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also opened an investigation into Cruise’s self-driving vehicles due to hard braking, traffic blocking, and other issues.
Despite these incidents, Cruise maintains that their service has been safe, with a record of zero life-threatening injuries or fatalities after driving millions of miles in the city. The SFTA is not opposed to the 24/7 expansion, but has requested more data and for the vehicles to stay off primary routes during rush hour until they prove they can operate without disrupting street operations and transit services.
The letters from SFTA to CPUC may have been prompted by Cruise’s plans to operate its robotaxi service 24 hours a day, which has been approved by the California Department of Motor Vehicles but is awaiting permission from the CPUC. Cruise’s self-driving taxis are also available in Austin, Texas and Phoenix, while Waymo operates driverless ride services in Phoenix.
