Following a contentious state agency vote, Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise are allowed to take paying passengers day or night throughout San Francisco, solidifying the tech hub as the centre of the autonomous vehicle industry. It marks a significant step forward for the nascent technology.
In favour of the expansion were technologists and residents who said they felt the cars offer a safer alternative to human drivers and are a critical boost to San Francisco’s economy. Cruise and Waymo have been running experimental services limited by times and geographic areas within San Francisco. Neither indicated on Thursday how soon they may move to make round-the-clock taxi service a reality, but they promised to do so soon in promotional emails after the vote.
San Francisco is important as both a symbolic hub of tech and, with hundreds of AVs already in operation, the largest test lab for the experimental cars. The companies have said real-world testing in dense city environments is essential to perfecting the technology. Cruise and Waymo will now also operate in direct competition with local companies Uber and Lyft in offering rides summoned by app.
Hundreds of residents and members of various interest groups filed in to the commission’s San Francisco hearing room to comment in one-minute increments on either side of the issue, citing issues ranging from accessibility for the disabled, safety, software coding, union activity and conflicts of interest, among a host of other concerns.
Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: BNNBloomberg - 🏆 83. / 50 Read more »
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »