THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO is opposing a recent state agency decision that permits the unchecked expansion of autonomous vehicles in the city for commercial use, City Attorney David Chiu announced Aug. 17.
Led by Chiu, city officials filed an administrative motion Aug. 16 to immediately pause the expansion of commercial driverless car services by autonomous vehicle companies Cruise and Waymo.
Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 to allow the companies to charge all passengers, operate their autonomous vehicles 24/7 and add an unlimited amount of cars to their fleets.
The decision came after hours of public comment, with different stakeholders weighing in on whether the vehicle’s technology is safe enough for its fleet to be expanded throughout the city.
The administrative motion argues that the companies need to address the numerous cases of robotaxi-related safety hazards and traffic disruptions before it should be allowed to expand its fleet on a dramatic scale.
“We have seen that this technology is not yet ready, and poor AV performance has interfered with the life-saving operations of first responders. San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion…”
City Attorney David Chiu
San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson said earlier this month that that since the beginning of 2023, Waymo and Cruise cars have had at least 55 incidents of disruptive driving on city streets, including stopping in the middle of the road, driving erratically or becoming an obstacle for first responders.
“The decision permits industry expansion without solving any of the underlying problems,” Nicholson said Aug. 17. “We do not believe the industry has any incentive to remain at the table and solve their problems. These incidents with public safety are not going away and are in fact increasing.”
‘Unfettered expansion’
The motion also alleges that the CPUC “abused its discretion” by failing to address public safety concerns and environmental impacts of thousands of more autonomous vehicles operating on the city’s streets.
“When deploying powerful, new technology, safety should be the top priority,” said Chiu. “We have seen that this technology is not yet ready, and poor AV performance has interfered with the life-saving operations of first responders. San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion, which outweigh whatever impacts AV companies may experience from a minimal pause in commercial deployment.”
Before the companies were permitted to freely expand their operations, Cruise was permitted to charge for rides from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in specific areas of the city and free rides at all other times, while Waymo could only charge for rides while a driver is in the vehicle.
San Francisco is asking for the CPUC to preserve the status quo of Waymo and Cruise operations while it pursues a rehearing of the state agency’s decision.
“San Francisco seeks an immediate stay of the CPUC’s approval of unrestricted driverless AV passenger services in our city. The risks and impacts of this decision should not continue to be borne by our residents and visitors while we seek redress from the Commission’s misguided action,” said Aaron Peskin, chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority board and president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.