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Robotaxis Are Making Enemies as They Go Around San Francisco
25.08.2023 - 03:37 / tech.hindustantimes.com
Just before Patti Smith took the stage in San Francisco this month, the emcee thanked sponsors, including robotaxi company Waymo.
The audience booed, reflecting the hostility that's growing in the city for one of tech's most-watched industries.
There was the recent incident when a fleet of driverless vehicles froze and blocked traffic during a Friday night concert at North Beach. Days later, an autonomous car got stuck in wet cement at a construction site, and then a robotaxi crashed into a firetruck responding to an emergency call. Weeks earlier, pet lovers were mortified when a vehicle struck and killed a small dog.
The mishaps are adding to traffic and safety concerns over driverless vehicles, which zip around the city's streets surrounded by sensors and cameras, collecting data and promising a world with fewer human interactions. The robotaxi backlash is intensifying as self-driving vehicles begin to gain real traction in San Francisco after years of development.
California's regulator this month approved an expansion of robotaxi services in the city, allowing Waymo, a part of Alphabet Inc., and Cruise LLC, a unit of General Motors Co., to begin charging fares for rides when the streets are busiest. But they're also now battling labor unions, the city's public transit system and city attorney David Chiu, who petitioned the state to suspend the expanded fare licenses.
If Chiu wins, it would be a setback for companies trying to monetize multi-billion dollar investments in self-driving cars. It could also signal to other companies developing the technology that the birthplace of autonomy is an increasingly difficult place for it to grow up.
That's putting California in a precarious position. High taxes and regulations have already sent some banking and tech companies heading east to places likes Texas. Autonomous tech companies are also branching out, with Cruise and Waymo expanding operations and test fleets in Sunbelt states with more permissive regulations and business-friendly governments. Cruise announced expansion plans for Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday.
“What isn't getting harder in California?” said Christopher West, founder of L5AutoUSA, which promotes autonomous vehicles. “This is accelerating a natural progression to other cities and states.”
Cruise and Waymo are the only firms in California allowed to run paid robotaxi services around-the-clock. The approval came Aug. 10 from the California Public Utilities Commission, after Cruise worked for nine years to get 10 permits. Other states have been more lenient. Cruise secured a permit in Arizona in a month and Texas can offer them within days. In Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, the company said it doesn't even require an autonomous-vehicle
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