Robotaxis on San Francisco Streets: Controversy and Expansion

Thursday - August 10 2023, 08:20 UTC - 1 year ago

CNBC reports that Cruise has 400 robotaxi's in San Francisco and Waymo are also requesting expanded operations there. The local NBC reporter has evidence of traffic being blocked for 20 minutes. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) set up rules where city leaders cannot block autonomous vehicle regulation. Despite the expansion of robotaxi operations in the city, they are causing dozens of problems and eliminating thousands of human jobs in the city. Various safety protocols and standards need to be discussed to ensure the safety and efficiency of public transportation.

CNBC reports that Cruise has 400 robotaxi’s and most of them are located in San Francisco. As of this day, there are more than 2000 robotaxi vehicles in California and the number is increasing by 49% each month. Cruise is doing more than 10,000 rides per week according to its CEO who said they were operating tens of autonomous vehicles in 2022, and that the number is expected to rise to 400 in 2023 and thousands in 2024 .

Both Cruise and Waymo are requesting expanded operations in San Francisco in spite of blocking traffic and emergency vehicles many dozens of times. The local NBC reporter has a recording of his second Cruise ride which resulted in blocking traffic for aproximately twenty minutes. Despite the expansion of robotaxi operations in the city, autonomous vehicles on public streets are causing dozens of problems each month for firetrucks, ambulances and police cars and city traffic .

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) set up the rules where city leaders cannot block autonomous vehicle regulation. Nevertheless, both Los Angeles and San Francisco are fighting the expansion of robotaxi operations.One of the five CPUC commissioners is John Reynolds. He was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021. Before that, John Reynolds served as general counsel to Cruise in 2021 .

Presently, there are more than 10,000 human drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft in San Francisco.Robotaxis are creating disruption in public transportation. On one hand, the autonomous vehicles promise a more efficient transportation system with accurate navigation, better safety, low emissions and fast routes. On the other hand, they could eliminate thousands of human jobs in the city considering the rise of autonomous vehicles on public streets .

Various safety protocols and standards need to be discussed to ensure we get the most out of the robotaxi idea and, more importantly, that public safety is not impacted. It is important that we establish a more transparent system for checking autonomous vehicle safety, as well as create more regulations that can ensure the safety of human drivers, cyclists and pedestrians in the city.In conclusion, the expansion of robotaxi operations raises important questions on how to safely integrate autonomous vehicles into the existing transportation system .

With a more transparent system of checking autonomous vehicle safety, we can ensure the safety of public transportation and jobs, while also enjoying the advances in automation that robotaxis bring.