Skip to main content

California snips legal red tape for robot taxis

waymo taxi
Waymo

Up to now, California has dished out permits to more than 50 companies wishing to test their autonomous vehicles on the state’s public roads.

Then in April, regulators said it would start allowing tests of self-driving cars without a safety driver behind the wheel, though at the current time few companies are believed to have applied for permission to do so.

Recommended Videos

In recent days, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) gave the go-ahead for companies to offer rides in autonomous cars to regular folks as part of a pilot program. With many players in the industry aiming to launch robot taxi services, the opportunity to start giving members of the public rides in test vehicles is an important step forward.

Neighboring Arizona already allows such rides, with Waymo, for one, offering them to the residents of Phoenix. It even produced a video showing the reactions of riders as the vehicle automatically navigated the streets without anyone — not even a safety driver — inside the car.

The CPUC has actually given the green light to two pilot programs. One where companies can provide a passenger service with a safety driver behind the wheel, and another without. With the latter, the vehicle’s status and operation must be monitored remotely at all times when the vehicle is on the road.

In addition, the companies are not allowed to charge passengers for any of the rides. So if you’re able to snag a lift in one of the robot cars, you’ll be driven to your destination for free.

We’re now eager to see which companies will be the first to offer rides to regular folks, and the system each one puts in place to manage the operation.

CPUC commissioner Liane M. Randolph said she was “pleased to launch these pilot programs as part of the evolution of the passenger transportation system in California,” adding, “Our state is home to world-class innovative companies and I look forward to these services being offered with the high level of safety that we expect from our passenger service providers.”

Indeed, in the wake of the recent tragedy in Arizona where a pedestrian was struck and killed by a self-driving car operated by Uber, there’s now even more focus on safety as the industry endeavors to convince the public that autonomous-vehicle technology is ultimately a force for good.

Allowing members of the public to take rides in driverless cars not only helps to get people familiar and comfortable with the technology, but also provides companies with valuable data on how people interact with it. As for California, offering companies the chance to accept regular folks for rides keeps the Golden State at the forefront of driverless-car development as companies continue working to enhance their respective systems for the safest and most efficient rides possible.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Cruise autonomous vehicle drives over woman just after she was hit by another car
A Cruise autonomous car.

An autonomous vehicle (AV) operated by Cruise ran over a pedestrian in San Francisco on Monday night just after she’d been hit by another car, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

According to witnesses, the force of the initial impact knocked the woman into the path of the Cruise robotaxi, leaving her pinned under one of its wheels. The driver in the other car reportedly fled the scene.

Read more
Cruise says it’s nearing approval for mass production of futuristic robotaxi
Interior of Cruise's Origin vehicle.

Robotaxi company Cruise is “just days away” from getting regulatory approval that would pave the way for mass production of its purpose-built driverless vehicle, CEO Kyle Vogt said on Thursday in comments reported by the Detroit Free Press.

General Motors-backed Cruise unveiled the vehicle -- called Origin -- in early 2020, presenting the kind of driverless car that we all dreamed of when R&D in the sector kicked off years ago; a vehicle without a steering wheel and without pedals. A vehicle with passenger seats only.

Read more
Robotaxi firm Cruise ordered to halve fleet following incidents
A Cruise autonomous car.

Autonomous car company Cruise has been told by regulators to halve its robotaxi fleet in San Francisco following a crash with a fire truck on Thursday in which the driverless car's passenger suffered minor injuries.

The regulator -- the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) -- said that it’s looking into “recent concerning incidents” involving self-driving Cruise cars operating on the city’s public roads.

Read more