Green light for driverless robot taxi in San Francisco!

Amid fierce opposition, California regulators on Thursday allowed two rival robotaxi companies to operate their driverless cars 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in San Francisco and charge passengers for their services! (Cruise and Waymo)

The vote was followed by heated debates, with a great divide between those for and against! Local leaders and activists voiced their concerns about the technology. The California Public Utilities Commission regulates self-driving cars in the state, and despite all this, voted 3-1 to expand Waymo and Cruise’s operations. In doing so, they have opened up competition between taxi and passenger drivers. This is a historic milestone!

Almost 300 vehicles have been in service without a driver at night and 100 vehicles during the day. This number will now increase with the introduction of licensing.

Critical voices have raised the following objections to the revolutionary service: they freeze in traffic, they obstruct first aid services. In a single day, 55 cases of this happening were recorded! (e.g. a Waymo car got between a car on fire and a fire engine)

Of course, the Robotaxi companies set their own records: ‘3 million driverless miles driven without a single fatal accident’!

San Francisco has always been the largest test lab for self-driving vehicles! In dense urban environments, you have to test the technology, that’s a fact. Let everyone decide if they would be happy if it happened in their own neighbourhood!

There is no question that this is the future, I think we will see Robotaxis on the streets of Budapest in 10 years at the earliest!