California regulators on Thursday agreed to expand driverless taxi services in San Francisco, despite safety concerns from local officials and community activists.
In a 3-to-1 vote, the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates self-driving cars in the state, gave Cruise and Waymo permission to offer paid rides any time of the day in whole city. One commissioner was absent.
Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, offers paid rides in one-third of the city while Waymo, owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, offers free rides in passengers in its driverless cars. The vote had no effect on frequent test drives conducted by Waymo and Cruise without passengers on San Francisco streets.
The commission’s decision after a seven-hour hearing followed months of protests by city officials and civic groups, who complained that driverless cars were a potential road hazard. Although the autonomous vehicles have not been blamed for any serious incidents, city officials say they often shut down and stop moving after encountering an unexpected obstacle such as a fire hose or power lines.
The expansion plan is the first indication that driverless cars may be commercially viable after billions of dollars of investment by the technology and auto industries. “San Francisco will be a proof of concept” for the rest of the country, said Matt Wansley, a law professor at the Cardozo School of Law in New York.
Darcie Houck, a commissioner who voted for the expansion, said the companies met the requirements set by the state. But he added that it’s “critical that the industry works directly with the city” to evaluate problems after they happen and establish training for emergency workers like firefighters who sometimes come into contact with cars. .
Cruise operates 300 vehicles in San Francisco at night and 100 during the day, while Waymo operates 250 throughout the day. Neither company expects a significant increase in the number of vehicles.
Waymo said its driverless fleet would “align” with rider demands, while Cruise said it would focus on market expansion in new parts of the city, as it offered paid rides in the Northwest of San Francisco.
Both supporters and opponents of driverless cars — including labor unions, gig workers, disability groups and transportation activists — flocked to the commission’s headquarters in San Francisco on Thursday. In a campaign organized by Waymo, nearly 100 employees and riders came to the meeting wearing yellow shirts that said, “Safer Roads for All.”
Genevieve Shiroma, the commissioner who voted against the expansion, said the commission “does not have enough information to evaluate and integrate the safety method of this mode of transportation.” He said he was concerned that self-driving cars would interfere with the work of firefighters and police officers.
In a statement, Prashanthi Raman, president of global government affairs, called the decision a “historic industry milestone.” Waymo said it will begin charging its existing fares to customers and, in the coming weeks, will begin inviting more than 100,000 people on its waiting list to become riders.
