San Francisco to have self-driving cars; California commission allows two companies to operate commercially
Self Driving Cars
San Francisco has become one of the first cities in the United States to have a commercial driverless network operating at all times. On Thursday, a California commission voted to allow Google-owned Waymo and General Motors-owned Cruise to employ self-driving vehicles in the city.
The contentious vote, which went on for seven hours, pulled around 200 public comments. The two self-driving car manufacturing companies were already running a small fleet of vehicles during the off-peak hours in the city.
After the vote, the co-CEO of Waymo, Tekedra Mawakana, said, "We can't wait for more San Franciscans to experience the mobility, safety, sustainability and accessibility benefits of full autonomy for themselves, all at the touch of a button."
The vice president of global government affairs at Cruise said, "24/7 driverless ride-hail service across San Francisco is a historic industry milestone." She added, "It allows the company to be competitive against an inaccessible transportation status quo."
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The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) had earlier postponed the highly-awaited vote twice, initially scheduled for June 29, after San Francisco officials raised objections about driverless vehicles. The San Francisco fire department chief said the cars were "not ready for prime time."
While some disability advocates have supported the vote, others have come out against the resolution. Many organisations, including the Blinded Veterans Association, the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California and the Curry Senior Center, wrote an open letter to the CPUC backing the expansion of the services.
Several people representing the blind community said autonomous vehicles would help them travel as they cannot refuse passengers or deny ferrying a service dog. However, some people argue that self-driving cars are not accessible as they do not pick up or drop passengers at the curb, making it difficult for blind passengers or people with other disabilities.
CPUC Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma endorsed for a later vote until the Waymo and Cruise gave further details related to the problems raised by San Francisco officials about the vehicles' history. She also requested more data on the number of cars the two companies plan to release if the resolutions were approved.
Both companies have tested their vehicles in San Francisco and released a small fleet of self-driving cars in 2020. Earlier, they operated from 10 AM to 6 PM at a maximum speed of 30 mph. However, self-driving cars will now function at all hours in India at 60 mph.
(With inputs from agencies)
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