Robotaxis Are a Problem in San Francisco; the City Is Trying to Slow Down Approvals

San Francisco was one of the first cities to accept the current self-driving cars that carry people on a regular basis. Robotaxi is a significant breakthrough in the world. However, there have been recent reports of issues with the robotaxi industry in the city, as it closes down roads, creates traffic, and obstructs first responders. The city has been dealing with this issue continuously, so officials are looking into slowing down the deployment to prevent such issues in the future. In order to address the issues that robotaxis is currently causing in the Golden City, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority has sent two letters to the California Public Utilities Commission. According to their letters, they want to solve the problems with the local fleet of autonomous vehicles, especially those utilized for ride-hailing services. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit- Public News Time[/caption] One of the main causes cited in this article is when robotaxis break down and block traffic on the roadways, resulting in congestion and delays. Another issue it creates is when it also prevents emergency responders from answering crucial calls for their assistance via 911 calls. The letters' primary objective for now is to prevent the robotaxis from growing in the area. If there are issues like these in the service's current run, it was suggested that continuing this would be "unreasonable." For the time being, it appears that there is a request to stop additional robotaxi operations from receiving approval, with the two businesses, Waymo and Cruise, addressing the issue. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Image credit- CNN[/caption] Autonomous Vehicles for Robotaxi At the moment, San Francisco is home to two self-driving technologies that were developed by Google and General Motors and its affiliates. One of these businesses is Waymo, which was founded by Google workers and uses self-driving technology that can be retrofitted onto existing automobiles. On the other hand, GM's Cruise, which shares technology with Waymo and offers a novel experience in Golden Gate City, is compatible with the majority of contemporary automobiles. https://www.gadgetany.com/news/where-is-elon-musks-massive-fleet-of-tesla-robotaxis-heres-what-we-know-so-far/ These two received approval for their city-wide pilot project and were welcomed to give their ride-hailing services to all residents, some of whom would receive them around the clock. The only issue right now is that both systems have serious issues, which makes it difficult for local residents and tourists to go about their everyday lives. The city's only option right now is to use more robotaxis to delay the projected expansion of these businesses and possibly require them to improve their systems before moving forward.