San Francisco has formally asked state regulators to reconvene a hearing in August on expanding robo-taxi permits for Cruise and Waymo, giving the two companies permission to expand business operations throughout the city 24/7.
The controversial decision was met with significant opposition as city agencies and residents questioned the long-term impact of the expansions. The permits impose no restrictions on geographic area, hours of service or fleet size, something opponents say could lead to unlimited numbers of robotaxis roaming the streets. There is also no requirement for Cruise or Waymo to report incidents of robo-taxis breaking down and “bricking” traffic, disrupting the flow of other road users, public transit and first responders.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed the request on behalf of city transportation and planning officials. Chiu had also requested a temporary moratorium on the expansions days after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) hearing, but the agency never responded. The city’s motions, filed Monday, reiterate the request for a temporary halt.
“These vehicles may be able to drive themselves, but they cannot regulate themselves,” Chiu said in a statement. “The CPUC must do this to protect passengers and public safety. Since the CPUC’s decision to allow the unrestricted expansion of autonomous vehicles for commercial passenger service in San Francisco, autonomous vehicles have continued to present safety risks and interfere with first responders.”
Chiu urged the CPUC to reconsider its decision, accusing the agency of using a flawed approval process and ignoring the public safety risks and potential environmental impacts of autonomous vehicles.
“Autonomous vehicle technology has a place in San Francisco, but we are concerned that it is not yet able to operate safely in our complex transportation environment,” Chiu continued.
The CPUC’s primary role is to promote the public interest by ensuring safe, reliable, and affordable utility services. As long as Cruise and Waymo’s services meet these requirements, the CPUC does not have the authority to restrict them. The agency voted to expand permits in August because it did not anticipate that robotic services would create significant safety risks.
Both Cruise and Waymo cars have been involved in collisions, but so far no people have died as a result of those collisions, and injuries have been minimal. However, following the CPUC hearing, Cruz’s car collided with a fire truck, injuring a passenger. The California Department of Motor Vehicles ordered Cruise to immediately reduce its fleet by 50% while it investigates “recent incidents of concern.”
Most of the other “accidents in question” that have occurred recently (and over the past year) have primarily involved cruise vehicles hitting bricks in the middle of public roads. On August 16, 10 automated taxis stoppedwhich brought North Beach to a standstill for about 20 minutes during one of the city’s largest music festivals.
Public backlash for Cruz came to a head in early September after a San Francisco Fire Department report accused a Cruz robo-taxi of obstructing an ambulance carrying a passenger who later died, an accusation Cruz denied. Last week, demonstrators gathered outside Cruz’s headquarters in protest. TechCrunch viewed the footage and confirmed that Cruz did not obstruct the ambulance’s movements. The fire department later clarified that Cruz was not at fault.
Still, the damage to Cruise’s reputation had been done, and the incident provided a stark picture of what could happen if Cruise’s car hit a brick in front of an ambulance, for example, on a one-way street with little room for the ambulance to turn around.
“Businesses are not required to report — or even track — such significant incidents and intervention events,” the city attorney’s motion said. “As a result, San Francisco’s analysis of these incidents is based entirely on incident reports from affected members of the public and city employees.”
Cruise and Waymo shared some data during an August meeting with city stakeholders and the CPUC to address concerns ahead of the agency’s vote. According to Cruise’s data, from January 1 to July 18, 2023, there were 177 “vehicle retrieval events,” which are examples of a bricked robotaxi needing to be picked up by a human. The average solution time was 14 minutes.
Waymo data showed 58 retrieval events, with an average of 10 minutes to resolve, from January 1 to June 30, 2023.
Those incidents make up only a subset of the total number of unexpected stops, city officials said. Between April 2022 and April 2023, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) collected a total of 261 crashes involving a Cruise vehicle and 85 crashes involving a Waymo vehicle. These accidents involve multiple types of driving behavior, including unexpected stops, erratic driving, pick-up and drop-off issues, and collisions.
The City Attorney’s Office is asking the CPUC to not only adopt new reporting requirements for autonomous vehicle companies, but to publish those reports publicly without redaction. These reports must collect data on monthly miles traveled by autonomous and driverless vehicles across the county, street interference incidents, and all high-risk incidents and violations. The request also asks the CPUC to consider ensuring the expansion of autonomous vehicles is awarded in a phased, performance-based manner so that it does not create “widespread new risks to travelers and the general public.”
“The CPUC’s decision was the result of a months-long process that saw public input and support from access groups, labor unions, and community advocates — culminating in a six-hour public comment period in which a majority supported expanding access to autonomous vehicles,” Naveeda Forghani, a Cruz spokesperson told TechCrunch. “It is unfortunate to see the city using public resources to override this decision and restrict technology with an excellent safety record used by tens of thousands of San Franciscans.”
“We fully support the CPUC’s carefully considered decision to allow Waymo to charge prices for driverless rides,” Waymo spokeswoman Katherine Barna said. “We will follow this development closely, and in the meantime, we will continue to work with the City of San Francisco in constructive ways while providing safe and accessible mobility for San Francisco residents.”