After a brief temporary stop, due to an accident between a robotaxi and a cyclist, Waymo obtains licenses in San Mateo and Los Angeles
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved the request to extend the license of robotaxi Of WaymoMeaning what Google, including in San Mateo and Los Angeles counties. The request was temporarily suspended for further investigation following an accident between a Waymo self-driving Jaguar I-Pace and a cyclist in early February this year. A few days later, another Waymo Jaguar was vandalized and set on fire, again in San Francisco, by a group of very young thugs.
WAYMO: OK FROM CPUC
—
With the commission’s approval, Waymo can now carry out its robotaxi business even outside the urban area of San Francisco, where it was already authorized. Self-driving cars will therefore be able to circulate, even without a human supervising on board, on the highways that lead out of the town, up to Sunnyvale. This is an area that includes almost the entire San Francisco peninsula, including Mountain View, where Google is based, and Cupertino, where Apple (which has just abandoned its self-driving car project) is based. Finally, the license is also valid throughout the urban center of Los Angeles.
THE NEW ROBOTAXI LICENSE
—
In this vast area, Waymo will be able to put its robotaxis to work on tolled and free highways, within residential areas, on rural roads and in public car parks. It will be able to do so even in the event of rain and fog, both day and night, to transport both the public and employees of Waymo and Alphabet (the holding company that controls both Google and Waymo) for a fee or for free. The license also includes the possibility of transporting goods for a fee, as part of a commercial delivery service. Waymo will have to stop its cars, however, in case of snow or ice on the roadway, in off-road sections and on one-way mountain roads.
THE CONTROVERSY DOESN’T END
—
The new robotaxi license granted to Waymo by the California Public Utilities Commission is good news for Google, but it does not extinguish the controversies that have flared up in recent months in California, where both Waymo and Cruise (General Motors) have long been under fire for several accidents, some serious, in which self-driving cars have been involved. Also due to these incidents, Waymo had to modify its safety plan in order to obtain approval from the CPUC. Acts of hooliganism aside, however, the debate on robotaxis is far from over in California, where many are calling for a halt to the spread of driverless cars, waiting for the technology to mature enough to guarantee a greater safety for those on board and for those traveling on the road.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED