The California Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 11 issued driverless deployment permits for two robotaxi companies, Alphabet’s Waymo and GM’s Cruise, to operate their paid fully autonomous ride-hailing service 24/7 in San Francisco. The vehicles will provide direct competition for gig economy rideshare drivers as well as traditional taxi services.
The agency approved the permits on a 3-1 vote. Cruise and Waymo could previously provide only limited service in the city.
“Today’s permit marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,” said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, in a press release. “We’re incredibly grateful for this vote of confidence from the CPUC and to the communities and riders who have supported our service. We can’t wait for more San Franciscans to experience the mobility, safety, sustainability and accessibility benefits of full autonomy for themselves — all at the touch of a button.”
The San Francisco Police Officers Association, San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798 all wrote letters to the CPUC in the week leading up to the originally scheduled vote on June 29, CNN reported. Each expressed concerns that autonomous vehicles could impede emergency responders.
“The time that it takes for an officer or any other public safety employee to try and interact with an autonomous vehicle is frustrating in the best-case scenario, but when they cannot comprehend our demands to move to the side of the roadway and are stopped in the middle of the roadway blocking emergency response units, then it rises to another level of danger, and that is unacceptable,” wrote Tracy McCray, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association in June.
Their concerns played out this past weekend, when throngs of people attending a music festival at Golden Gate Park caused “wireless connectivity issues” for the vehicles themselves. As a result of its cell service woes, the company was unable to route its vehicles remotely, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.