Robotaxis Now Patrol San Francisco 24/7
First major US city to get full service sees problems in its first weekend.
Decision could make way for expansion of driverless taxis in other areas of the U.S., where the technology has drawn skepticism due to safety concerns.
IMAGE: Cruise
San Francisco gave two providers the green light for self-driving taxis to expand in the city and operate there round the clock.
Cruise and Waymo got the go-ahead from the California Public Utilities Commission, which voted three to one to approve the expanded service, including more operating taxis.
San Franciso is now the first major U.S. city to allow fully autonomous taxis citywide and round the clock after Waymo introduced the service in Chandler, Ariz. in 2020, followed by downtown Phoenix.
The move could make way for expansion of driverless taxis in other areas of the U.S., where the self-driving technology has drawn skepticism due to safety concerns.
The weekend after the San Francisco expansion, deployed Cruise taxis caused a traffic jam on narrow streets in the city’s North Beach neighborhood, about a dozen of them frozen in place as they struggled to navigate the tight area on a busy night. Cruise told news reporters that wireless connectivity issues and the nearby Outside Lands Music Festival led to the jam.
General Motors is Cruise’s majority owner, and Waymo is owned by Alphabet, parent company of Google.
DIG DEEPER: Consumers Favor Automated Safety Over Self-Driving Tech
Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today
More Showroom
Making the Safe Choice
Kelley Blue Book has turned households with teen drivers onto safe and affordable options for their vehicles of choice
Read More →
Inventory Holds Steady
September new-vehicle inventory rose slightly month-over-month, but dealer lots are laden with MY2026 vehicles as the typical model year changeover trudges along.
Read More →
October Auto Sales Fall With the Leaves
A forecast anticipates retail deliveries are down this month as consumers continue to face cost challenges, though more are tapping long loans in order to buy.
Read More →
California Sees Quarterly Gains
California’s new-vehicle market saw a boost in hybrids in the third quarter and its first overall quarterly market gain of the year.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Prices Stay Put
Affordability pressures and model availability shaped new-vehicle sales in September, according to an analysis by Kelley Blue Book.
Read More →
EV Buyer Consideration Shifts
What drives American consumers to purchase an electric vehicle is shifting as the question moves away from Should I?' to 'Which features and experience do I want to have?'
Read More →
Year-to-Date Auto Sales Holding Their Own
A forecast through August shows that automakers have shifted strategies to keep deliveries and revenues up despite tariffs and other economic challenges.
Read More →
Slow to Robo
Ten years of polling consumers shows autonomous vehicles’ profiles have risen considerably, but even more people now want at least some level of control if they go that route.
Read More →
Dealers a Little Down
A third-quarter Cox Automotive survey finds them in a mixed mood, bummed by fallen customer traffic but encouraged by better profits, costs and EV interest.
Read More →
European EV Sales Skyrocket
The EV market on the continent held strong in July with almost 25% of new-car sales being fully electric units, a stark contrast to the U.S., where EV sales declined about 42%.
Read More →