California regulators suspend recently approved San Francisco robotaxi service for safety reasons

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https://apnews.com/article/driverless-cars-cruise-california-robotaxis-8aa872f6b87bbff59e9c86471e87b0e7

California regulators suspend recently approved San Francisco robotaxi service for safety reasons

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Updated 3:22 PM EDT, October 24, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators have revoked the license of a robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco are a dangerous menace.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles’ indefinite suspension of the Cruise robotaxi service comes just two months after another state regulator, the Public Utilities Commission, approved an expansion that authorized around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco — the second most dense city in the U.S.

That approval came over a chorus of protests, including some lodged by police and fire officials who asserted the driverless vehicles had been impeding traffic in emergencies during a testing phase.

Now Cruise is being forced to slam on the brakes on its operations after the DMV concluded its robotaxis posed “an unreasonable risk to public safety,” according to a statement issued by the agency.

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[Mr.Bill]

1. Good news.

Was Cruise the only self driving service in San Francisco?

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3. Apparently not.

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While Cruise has been sidelined in San Francisco, another robotaxi operated by Waymo is continuing to give rides throughout the city. Waymo, which began as as secret project within Google more than a decade ago, has been running another robotaxi service in Phoenix for the past three years. Although its robotaxis haven’t been involved in a major accident in San Francisco, Waymo’s vehicles also have come to sudden stops that have backed up traffic in the city.

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[kimbutgar]

2. Excellent I live in SF and those Taxis don't like the hills, narrow streets and pedestrians!

I had to back up on a street recently because the robotaxi wouldn’t move over to the side like normal drivers do!