San Francisco has sued a California commission, contesting its approval of a robotaxi company’s expansion despite recent safety problems raised by the city.
City Attorney David Chiu filed a suit to a state appellate court against the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, last month, first reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday. Last year, the CPUC approved two major driverless taxi companies, Cruise, the arm of General Motors, and Google-owned Waymo, to operate an autonomous pickup and drop-off service in the city at all hours of the day.
“As driverless AVs expanded in San Francisco, members of the public and city officials identified hundreds of safety incidents, including interference with first responders,” the lawsuit, filed Dec. 11, 2023, reads. “Despite these serious safety incidents, and over the objections of San Francisco, the commission approved requests by Cruise and Waymo to operate.”
City officials warned against the vote in August 2023 to expand operations early on, citing several problems with the robotaxis, such as traffic blocks, collisions with other vehicles, and crashing into construction sites.
Chiu filed separate motions shortly after the CPUC’s decision on behalf of various San Francisco departments, asking state regulators to pause the expansion while the city seeks another hearing. In September 2023, Chiu asked regulators to re-vote on the decision to give self-driving vehicles more autonomy, which was denied by the commission in November.
A spokesperson for Waymo told the Post that while the company is disappointed in the city’s decision, it remains “confident in our ability to continue safely serving San Francisco’s visitors and residents. We have continually demonstrated our deep willingness and longtime commitment to work in partnership with California state regulators, SF city officials, and first responders and continue to stand by that approach.”
A CPUC spokesperson told the outlet that the commission will “respond to all claims through its pleadings and statements” via the court.
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Cruise halted its fleet in late October 2023 when the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked its permit after a self-driving vehicle struck a pedestrian. Waymo started expanding operations in Arizona earlier this month, testing autonomous rides on freeways, which were available to company employees only initially.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Cruise for comment.
