San Francisco wants robo-taxi operators to slow things down a bit after a series of mishaps in the city.
Soon after the citywide service was given the go-ahead, sightings emerged
Driverless cruise vehicles have been involved in various accidents.
As a result, the company confirmed on Friday that it will halve the number of automated taxis in circulation –He writes by Business Insider.
Local officials are preparing to appeal the decision, which allowed robotics companies including Cruise — a division of General Motors — and Alphabet-owned Waymo to roam the city around the clock.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that San Francisco city attorney David Chew has filed motions with the California Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body that voted in favor of full-robot services this month, asking that licenses be temporarily suspended.
According to proposals seen by the paper, San Francisco would suffer massive damage if companies like Cruise and Waymo were allowed to expand in the city.
All without restrictions on hours of service and fleet size.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin also told Axios last week that he plans to appeal the CAT’s decision. Preparations to appeal the decision come after the CPUC voted 3-1 to allow robo-taxi services to operate paid taxi services throughout San Francisco.
Previously, Waymo could only offer free rides and Cruise could only operate in a third of the area of San Francisco. The companies accepted the restrictions issued by the regulators in order to gain their trust and prove the safety of their automated bot under strict rules.
But San Francisco residents have become increasingly vocal about their city becoming a dangerous testing ground for self-driving car technology, because they fear that robo-taxi could wreak havoc.
Based on recent accidents and breakdowns, their fears may not be unfounded.
