We have to keep an eye on EssEff happenings since some can spill over into B'game. It wouldn't surprise me if autonomous, robotic, driver-less taxis is one of them. The Daily Post and Chronicle are reporting on the progress:
California regulators on Thursday issued a first-of-its-kind permit to robot-taxi company Cruise (a GM controlled company), which will make San Francisco the first major city in the country in which people can hail a paid ride from a driverless taxi, officials said.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to grant Cruise its permit, more than six months after the San Francisco-based company first applied to be able to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicles, without a backup driver. The company has been offering free driverless rides since February and will begin rolling out paid rides in its 30 electric vehicles in the coming weeks, officials said.
That's the headline, but the caveats are far more interesting. Since the taxis are apparently unable to move to the curb for pick-up and drop-off they are being restricted to less dense parts of the city. They can only operate between 10pm and 6am and must stay under 30 mph and shut down for rain and fog. A competitor, Waymo, has been offering service in the friendlier driving environs of Phoenix since October 2020, but driving in SF is a tougher task.
The Daily Post offered a reminder of two events last April when a Cruise taxi briefly blocked a fire truck responding to a call and when the SFPD stopped one of the taxis, it drove off before the officer finished ticketing it. You can read the COO's statement about the new paid service here--and the link to hail one is at the bottom. Be brave! In the meantime, my old standby Luxor is still in business serving B'game and you get help with your bags.
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