Full Commercialization of Robotaxis Arrives in San Francisco

[searcher]

Robotaxi regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission, after hours of testimony from supporters and opponents, voted on Thursday to allow GM’s Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo to charge riders for driverless robotaxi service, day and night, anywhere in San Francisco, with no cap on fleet sizes. They can now commence full commercialization of robotaxis in San Francisco.

We’ve been seeing them everywhere in San Francisco: Fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) from Cruise and Waymo with no driver and one or two people in the back, and vehicles with no one in them at all. They’re generally well-behaved. They smoothly roll up to a stop sign, come to a complete stop, stay there for a couple of seconds, and then softly accelerate away. They stop when the light turns yellow and don’t floor the accelerator to get through the intersection on dark-yellow or whatever. And they don’t do donuts in intersections.

Full Commercialization of Robotaxis Arrives in San Francisco | Wolf Street

 

[Casey Jones]

After a fatality or two, non-computerized cars and pedestrians will be banned from the streets.

After a crash or two, the PUC will order a 35-mph speed limit on them.

And that will be the only way to travel. IF the government LETS you.

 

[Voodoo]

Enjoy your AI Utopia, idiots.

 

[searcher]

Related:

Traffic lights could change in the era of smart vehicles​

 

[nickndfl]

They have a test fleet in downtown Miami and they suck. The cars are constantly stopping for no reason creating problems for human drivers.

 

[Casey Jones]

They have a test fleet in downtown Miami and they suck. The cars are constantly stopping for no reason creating problems for human drivers.

Yup.

Ban human-operated cars and trucks. And bicycles.

And FORCE the sheeple INTO these hellscape robocarriages.

 

[searcher]

Nearly everywhere on earth, when you’re stuck in traffic, you’re still surrounded by the usual sea of heads attached to shoulders attached to arms attached to steering wheels. But in a tiny handful of places—in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Wuhan, China—you can find yourself flanked by taxis with no one in the drivers’ seats, picking up passengers, unsupervised by any human. And if you live in one of those cities, the sight probably doesn’t even prompt a double-take anymore. It’s like the future is suspended between those who’ve never encountered it—and those who are already a little blind to it.

Get in, Loser—We’re Chasing a Waymo Into the Future

Tailing a robotaxi for hours and hours is weird. And revelatory. And jealousy-inducing. But a driverless world is coming for all of us. So close the door and buckle up.

www.wired.com