San Francisco officials want to stop robotaxis operating 24/7 after one got stuck in concrete and others caused traffic chaos
- San Francisco is getting ready to tell robotaxi operators: not so fast.
- Officials say they will appeal a decision allowing robotaxis to operate across the whole city.
San Francisco wants robotaxi operators to slow things down amid a series of unfortunate events.
Not long after the rollout of citywide services was greenlit, reports emerged of driverless Cruise vehicles being involved in separate crashes. This led the company to confirm on Friday that it would slash its robotaxi operation by half.
And last week, a Cruise vehicle without passengers reportedly got stuck in wet concrete.
Now, officials are preparing to appeal the decision that allowed robotaxi companies, including Cruise — a division of General Motors — and Alphabet-owned Waymo, to roam the city day and night.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed motions to the California Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body that voted in favor of full-scale robotaxi services this month, asking for permits to be temporarily suspended, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The motions, seen by the paper, said "San Francisco will suffer serious harm" if companies like Cruise and Waymo are "allowed expansion in the city with no limitations on geographic area, service hours and fleet size."
Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, also told Axios last week that he planned to appeal the decision by the CPUC.
Preparations to appeal the decision came after the CPUC voted 3-for-1 in favor of allowing robotaxi services to introduce paid-for taxi services across the whole of San Francisco.
Previously, Waymo could only offer rides without charge and Cruise was limited to operating in about a third of San Francisco. The companies accepted the restrictions issued by regulators to win their confidence by proving the safety of their robotaxis under strict rules.
However, San Francisco residents have been increasingly vocal about their city becoming a dangerous test-bed for driverless car technology amid fears the robotaxis will cause havoc. Given the recent crashes and breakdowns, their fears may not be unfounded.
In a statement, a Waymo spokesperson said: "We fully support the CPUC's carefully considered decision to authorize Waymo to charge fares for driverless rides.
"We will follow this development closely, and in the meantime, we will continue to work with the city of San Francisco in constructive ways while providing safe and accessible mobility to San Franciscans."
Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow told Insider in a statement: "The CPUC's decision was the result of a months-long process that saw public input and support from accessibility groups, labor unions, and community advocates--culminating in a six hour public comment period where the majority supported expanded AV access.
"It's unfortunate to see the city use public resources to bypass that decision and restrict a technology with an excellent safety record used by tens of thousands of SF residents."