Robotaxi breakdowns cause mayhem in San Francisco days after expansion vote
Following months of discussion, the California Public Utilities Commission made a decision on Thursday to give the green light to an enlargement that permits vehicles to roam the streets unrestrictedly. However, this weekend, as clips depicting technical glitches with autonomous taxis emerged on various online platforms, critics argue that their concerns are being proven valid.
On Friday, during the busy traffic due to the Outside Lands music festival, several autonomous cars appeared to experience technical issues. An individual on TikTok captured a moment when a Cruise vehicle created chaos by getting stuck at an odd angle in the middle of the street near the festival. The user expressed their confusion, stating, "These cars are causing a lot of confusion here." Additionally, a Twitter user shared a video of a Cruise vehicle narrowly avoiding running over a family who were crossing the road over the weekend. In San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, residents became furious as up to 10 Cruise cars blocked a major road, causing inconvenience and frustration.
Aaron Peskin, the representative of the local community in the San Francisco board of supervisors, mentioned that he received numerous grievances from the people he represents that evening. On Twitter, he remarked that this mix-up highlighted the worries he and fellow individuals had expressed before the CPUC voting process.
"Why do the state officials believe it's acceptable to jeopardize individuals' safety and cause turmoil in our local streets?" he expressed. "We alerted them beforehand, yet they stubbornly ignored our concerns."
Cruise recently expressed on Twitter that the music festival gave rise to problems concerning the cellular networks that are vital for the vehicles' connection. The company is now actively examining and developing ways to avoid similar incidents in the future. Detractors were quick to highlight that the 10-car congestion occurred quite a distance away from the actual concert venue.
Although the companies received authorization on Thursday to enlarge their activities, it remains uncertain whether they have already increased the number of cars on the streets. In the past, there were restrictions on driving during the nighttime and, during the beta trial period, passengers were not being charged for their rides.
Cruise did not provide a comment regarding whether it has observed a surge in passengers since Thursday. A representative from Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company owned by Google, stated that they are gradually expanding their fleet in San Francisco but did not specify if they have already deployed additional vehicles after the vote.
According to a spokesperson from Safe Street Rebel, the organization committed to opposing the use of automobiles, there is a likelihood of more of such occurrences happening. The group has commenced the process of gathering accounts of self-driving cars that have experienced glitches, accidents, or posed risks to safety and has created a dedicated section on its website for this purpose.
According to them, considering the existing issues caused by autonomous vehicles, it is doubtful that GM and Google's aspirations for seamless operation will materialize. They believe that the only way towards promoting healthier, safer, and more sustainable cities is by reducing the presence of cars on the roads, rather than introducing additional ones. Moreover, they sarcastically mention the need for an increased number of traffic cones.
