Cars, being fast moving and heavy, are quite dangerous. They should be well regulated for safety. But it turns out regulations can be bought and paid for by lobbying money…
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority provides a final report for their Treasure Island autonomous shuttle test. While safe because the shuttle ran so slowly, the autonomous shuttle technology was found to be unreliable . The existing human driven 25-Treasure Island bus provides much more useful service and should be enhanced.
Unfortunately SB 915, legislation to allow local regulations for AVs, was pulled by the author due to other legislatures gutting it. The press release by Senator Cortese is provided here so that readers can understand what happened.
The SF Chronicle reports on how the CPUC has upheld its March decision to allow Waymo expansion to San Mateo County and Los Angeles. This was done even though local officials were very much against the expansion.
SF Examiner reports that the CPUC approved the previously agreed to $112,500 fine for Cruise for withholding information. This paltry fine will of course not affect the behavior of Cruise since it is currently burning a billion dollars a year.
While Waymo has long claimed to the public and to the CPUC that they use only clean energy, it turns out their vehicles are actually embarrassingly dirty. And the worst part is that Waymo is trying to hide information from the public that would clearly show that they are not using renewable energy for their surprisingly inefficient vehicles.
StreetBlogs reports that autonomous vehicles are not doing very well, and many people are skeptical of them. Now advocates are demanding regulations for safety.
Detailed article in TechCrunch on upcoming legislation winding its way through the California legislature. Includes details on why the changes are needed, and why the AV companies are fighting them.
Two California bills for better regulating autonomous vehicles are advancing in the state legislature. One is to provide the ability to cite AVs for traffic infractions. The second is to allow local oversight over AVs.
Article from The Verge on how NYC will be allowing robotaxis, but only with human drivers. Importantly, to get a permit operators will need to first report "disengagements" from service in another city. This is critical information that the robotaxi operators have so far refused to hand over.
Three additional California bills to regulate AVs have been sent to committee and need your support. This post contains simple instructions on how to send letters of support and provides templates, making it really easy for you to help.
Article from SF Standard on new laws on autonomous vehicles moving through California legislature. The newest proposed law is by Assemblymember Matt Haney and is for requiring additional data reporting from from autonomous vehicle companies.
Article from SF Chronicle explaining that though the CPUC granted Waymo permission to serve the peninsula, Waymo still needs permission from SFO to serve the airport. Also, Waymo does not have a timeline for expanding to cover the peninsula. Plus Waymo doesn't currently provide autonomous service on freeways yet due to safety issues.
In a surprising turnabout, the CPUC granted Waymo permission to expand service to the Bay Area peninsula and to most of Los Angeles. This still does not allow Waymo to provide service to the SFO airport though.
A coalition of San Francisco residents, safety advocates and workers is demanding Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately ban self-driving taxis, accusing the companies that operate them of endangering public safety. Waymo counters with statements from disability groups (to whom Waymo donated generously). Taxi drivers explain that people with disabilities often need a driver to help.
