The California Public Utilities Commission’s vote – 3 to 1 in favor – takes effect immediately, meaning companies could begin paid taxi service throughout the city and at all hours of the day as early as Thursday.
Cruise and Waymo have set up experimental services limited by times and geographies.
The move marks a crucial step in regulating robot cars, which Waymo, Cruise and others have been systematically rolling out to cities and states across the country.
San Francisco, however, is important as a symbolic hub for technology and, with more than 500 self-driving vehicles already in use, it’s the largest test lab for experimental cars. The companies said real-world testing in dense urban environments is key to perfecting the technology.
The San Francisco Fire Department, planning commission, transit agencies and others had lobbied the commission, charged with regulating self-driving vehicles statewide, for a slower rollout of automobiles , citing what they said were multiple incidents of interference with fire trucks, police activity and generally erratic driving.
The companies, which applied to the commission for permits to expand taxi service, said their vehicles are safer than distracted human drivers and have yet to cause any life-threatening injuries or deaths.
Cruise and Waymo will now also operate in direct competition with local companies Uber and Lyft by offering app-summoned rides.
The vehicles, with empty driver’s seats and auto-spinning steering wheels, have become a common sight around San Francisco. Residents frequently document their driving issues on social media.
Cruise said at a recent public hearing that he has about 300 vehicles in service at night and 100 during the day, while Waymo said he has about 250, with 100 of them in service at any given time. Both are expected to be added to that number now that the commission has approved the proposal.
The proposal had divided San Francisco between residents who resent their city being used as a test lab for what they say is unproven technology and those who say they think the token tech capital should be the leader in the development of which could lead to fewer traffic accidents. and injuries.
Hundreds of residents and members of various interest groups filled the commission’s hearing room in San Francisco to comment in one-minute increments on either side of the issue, citing issues ranging from the accessibility for people with disabilities, security, software coding, union activity and conflicts of interest, among a host of other concerns.
The commission heard testimony on Tuesday from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency that it had recorded nearly 600 incidents involving self-driving vehicles since the spring of 2022 and that they believe is “a fraction” of the total in because of what they say are lax reporting requirements. . San Francisco Fire Department Chief Jeanine Nicholson told the commission that “it is not the responsibility of my people to get into one of your vehicles and take it over.”
Technologists and other residents who have backed the wider rollout of self-driving vehicles said they fear a “no” vote could derail a local industry that brings jobs and attention to a desperately needed city. with a financial boost. After encountering regulatory resistance, Uber pulled its self-driving vehicles out of San Francisco in 2016 in favor of Arizona, where the governor promised less scrutiny.
