A Waymo driverless taxi stops on a street in San Francisco on Feb. 15.\nCalifornia regulators voted Thursday to allow two autonomous vehicle companies to operate driverless taxis 24 hours a day.\n\"Today's permit marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,\" said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, in a blog post on the company's website.\nReports have included vehicles blocking pathways for emergency vehicles, rolling over fire hoses and infringing in areas of active first responder incidents.\nSan Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson spoke at the separate public hearing on Monday, citing 55 written reports detailing incidents in which robotaxis interfered with the work of firefighters.
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"Waymo, Cruise approved to operate robotaxis day and night after contentious vote","slug":"waymo-cruise-approved-to-operate-robotaxis-day-and-night-after-contentious-vote","publishDate":"2023-08-11 12:53:30-04:00","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:05.950259","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"Following a contentious state agency vote, Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise are allowed to take paying passengers day or night throughout San Francisco, solidifying the tech hub as the centre of the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry.\nThey collectively have more than 500 autonomous vehicles already in operation.\nThe move is a critical step forward in regulating the robot cars, which Waymo, Cruise and others have been systematically rolling out in cities and states around the nation.\nThe approval “marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,” said Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo co-CEO, in a prepared statement.\nCruise and Waymo will now also operate in direct competition with local companies Uber and Lyft in offering rides summoned by app.
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"San Francisco's police, fire departments fret about push for more self-driving cars","slug":"san-francisco-s-police-fire-departments-fret-about-push-for-more-self-driving-cars","publishDate":"2023-08-11 00:00:00","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:04.696454","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:Walk through San Francisco, and it is hard to miss those driverless cars prowling the city.\nKERR: That's police body camera footage from the incident that was obtained by San Francisco news site Mission Local.\nThe San Francisco Fire Department has tracked 55 similar episodes over the last six months.\nKERR: San Francisco is a testing ground for self-driving cars.\nThe vast majority say they don't want self-driving cars on the streets.
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"CPUC votes to grant Cruise & Waymo final permits","slug":"cpuc-votes-to-grant-cruise-waymo-final-permits","publishDate":"2023-08-11 14:51:47+00:00","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:03.751496","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"California has served as one of the earliest testing grounds for autonomous vehicles (AVs), particularly robotaxis like the one’s Cruise and Waymo offer.\nCruise, for example, was founded in San Francisco in 2013 and was the first company authorized to test robotaxis in California in June 2021.\nAlthough the company began in Phoenix, San Francisco was also the first California city it deployed its robotaxis in.\nBoth Waymo and Cruise received their driverless pilot permit from the CPUC for San Francisco at the same time, allowing them to begin charging for some rides.\nThe recall was in response to a minor collision where a Cruise robotaxi hit the back of a San Francisco bus.
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"Autonomous Vehicle Riders Pushing the Limits: Testing Boundaries and Engaging in Questionable Behavior","slug":"autonomous-vehicle-riders-pushing-the-limits-testing-boundaries-and-engaging-in-questionable-behavior","publishDate":"2023-08-11 21:09:14+00:00","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:03.131384","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"With no front-seat driver or chaperone to discourage them, some riders are engaging in questionable behavior.\nIt also happened to be her first time engaging in sexual activity in a driverless vehicle.\nAutonomous vehicle companies have implemented extensive camera surveillance inside and outside their cars.\nDespite certain riders engaging in questionable behavior, the majority have been respectful and compliant.\nIn the meantime, passengers are encouraged to exercise discretion and uphold appropriate behavior while using driverless vehicles.
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"California Approves Expansion of Robotaxis in San Francisco","slug":"california-approves-expansion-of-robotaxis-in-san-francisco","publishDate":"2023-08-11 21:17:52.719000","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:02.733715","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"Would you get into a driverless taxi zipping down the interstate at 65 mph?\nYou could.The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) agreed to allow Waymo and Cruise to expand their autonomous taxi operations in San Francisco.\nThe move clears the way for Waymo to operate its autonomous vehicles with paying passengers, without a safety driver onboard, throughout San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County.\nThose vehicles are not permitted to operate in inclement weather.“This is an incremental approval.\nBut we are not seeing a technology that is ready for that, yet.”
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"California approves driverless taxi expansion in San Francisco","slug":"california-approves-driverless-taxi-expansion-in-san-francisco","publishDate":"None","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:01.810531","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"Waymo and Cruise can now charge for ride-hailing services throughout San Francisco despite objections that driverless cars interfere with traffic and first respondersA Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco Shutterstock/Iv-olgaDriverless cars have the green light to operate as paid ride-hailing services in San Francisco after the companies Waymo and Cruise won approval from California state regulators.\nThe roll-out of driverless cars in San Francisco has had a bumpy start.\nWaymo and Cruise can now expand their commercial services to charge passengers for round-the-clock driverless robotaxis in San Francisco – although the companies have suggested that they would not immediately add swarms of additional driverless cars.\n“What we have seen is that things are not getting better,” said Julia Friedlander, head of automated driving policy at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, during the 7 August meeting.\nAn analysis of California’s road traffic accident data suggests driverless vehicles are having four to eight times more minor accidents than human drivers, says Cummings.
"}}}},{"node":{"postTitle":"San Francisco Moves to Center of Self-Driving Car Development after California PUC Vote","slug":"san-francisco-moves-to-center-of-self-driving-car-development-after-california-puc-vote","publishDate":"2023-08-11 00:00:00","createdLocal":"2023-08-12 14:31:00.012010","feedName":"Autonomous Vehicle News","postSummary":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"A Cruise self-driving car, owned by General Motors Corp., is seen outside the company’s headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, September 26, 2018.\nThe approval “marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,” said Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo co-CEO, in a prepared statement.\nSan Francisco is important as both a symbolic hub of tech and, with hundreds of AVs already in operation, the largest test lab for the experimental cars.\nThe vehicles, with empty driver seats and self-turning steering wheels, have become a common sight around San Francisco.\nCommissioner Genevieve Shiroma advocated for a delayed vote noting the volume of public comment and her lingering concerns following evidence that the vehicles have obstructed emergency vehicles in San Francisco.
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