San Francisco Transit Operator Objects To GM’s Cruise Robotaxi Service
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San Francisco’s public transit operator has challenged the recent application submitted by Cruise to begin charging passengers for rides in its self-driving robotaxis.
Chevrolet Bolt EV-based Cruise development prototype
According to Reuters, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) sent a 24-page letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this week calling for it to deny a recent application from Cruise that would allow it to begin charging fares in the city. The letter turned CPUC’s attention to promotional videos published by Cruise’s parent company, General Motors, that allegedly show passengers getting in and out of the vehicles in the middle of the street, rather than curbside. According to SFMTA, boarding passengers in the road is a violation of the local transport code.
“Together, the Cruise Videos document 14 total stops for pick up or drop off of passengers; they provide evidence that not a single one of these stops complied with the requirements of the Vehicle Code and Transportation Code,” the letter said, as quoted by Reuters.
The SFMTA’s letter also said Cruise has failed to plan service in low-income or minority neighbourhoods where access to regular public transportation may be poor. It accused the company of failing to adequately accommodate wheelchair users with its fleet of robotaxis, as well, which are based on the Chevy Bolt EV compact hatchback.
Cruise told Reuters that it planned to issue a public response to the concerns raised in the SFMTA letter on Monday, December 6th, 2021. CPUC has not yet granted the company the application to begin charging fares and ultimately has the final say in whether or not the company will be allowed to do so. The company began offering free rides in the driverless cars to passengers in the area last month, but is now seeking to charge fares as it looks to launch a ride-hailing service akin to Uber or Lyft.
Cruise hopes to eventually roll out a large number of its Origin driverless robotaxis on public roads in San Francisco and other major U.S. cities. The driverless AV will enter production at its Factory Zero plant in 2023.
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While there is some logic to the complaint, the expectations that all pick ups and drop offs be conducted curbside is ludicrous. It’s San Francisco!!! There are hardly any open curbs because people park along every inch of curb available. Uber, Lyft and taxis are rarely pulling up to curbs.
Regarding handicap accessible requirements, the Cruise Origin would likely be way easier to access for a handicapped person when compared to Uber, Lyft or taxis. The user will just have to load the wheelchair into the Origin with them.
Move forward with the approval!
Not to mention this is testing, you can’t accommodate all variations of people/classes while they are still in the testing process for long term usage. If it hasn’t been causing accidents or other serious issues then move on with it if they deem safe. Once this phase has gathered plenty of data and improvements then it can be used in a vehicle to accommodate other particular users. You aren’t going to put in a wheel chair ramp on construction site that is still early in the build if they have one area that is a soft open, that will come later…
Except a taxi or uber has a driver to help the handicapped. Cruise does not. It is high time the tech companies stop getting a pass. I realize it is far easier to break the rules and hope you get away with it than to ask permission. This has been the mode the tech companies have operated in. I wish they would start making examples at of this behavior with painful fines. A painful fine (think tens/hundreds of millions for a google) is the only way to stop it. Otherwise it is merely a cost of biz.
I agree. Our public roads should not be a free proving grounds for these companies. Perhaps let them test in a place where thus type of vehicle will be most useful- parking lots, campuses, etc.
will these vehicles be defecating homeless persons accessible as well?
You mean people taking a poopie in Poppy?
In all seriousnes, one can only imagine the nefarious activity that could take place in one of these things with no human driver. Using this as a portable toilet is just one of them.
As long as the homeless person has a credit card. And any nefarious activity can be traced to a credit card.
Question – do Cruise vehicles have video recorders or any sort of interior camera? I assume they do for safety/security, but I’m not certain.
With the infinite variety of wheel chairs out there, the “automation” to safely transport each person and their chair would be an unsurmountable challenge. The SFTB should thank GM for leaving the HCA transportation on the table for human operators to still have a viable income stream.(sarcasm) And what about blind people? Will they have black out windows for people allergic to sunlight? Will it be bullet proof, for those that would use it for cruise-by? Could it come with a shower for those that have need? Sadly when GM picked SF as a model city they did know it was turning into just the opposite.
Hopefully they will come with a smoke suppression system that severely intimidates any potential smoker or toker! I am thinking of a scene from Robocop :))
Of course they have to load and unload passengers in the street – it’s the only safe place now that they’ve forfeited the sidewalks and curbsides to homeless encampments and in the retail districts not only must you dodge the local color and their discarded syringes, puddles of pee and piles of poo, but all the broken glass from shattered storefront windows courtesy of government incentivized BLM smash and grab Christmas shopping sprees. It’s all about Social Justice and mandatory masks and vaccines, man!
how long does someone need to live in one of these before they can claim squatter’s rights?