Driverless taxis now allowed to charge for rides in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - Autonomous car companies Cruise and Waymo are now allowed to charge for all rides in San Francisco. This latest move comes as those autonomous driving companies are facing increased scrutiny.

The service footprint for the companies is expanding, and they're now allowed to charge for all autonomous rides, but San Francisco city leaders are trying to apply the brakes.

By now, the sight of autonomous vehicles rolling through the streets of San Francisco is common, and now the AVs, also known as ‘robotaxis’ are cleared to charge for those rides throughout most of the city.

Waymo now joining Cruise in charging passengers for driverless rides. Previously the companies had faced restricted hours, or payment was tied to whether there was an operator on board. Both companies have indicated they will opt for base rate for rides, and additional costs depending on how far passengers go.

Billy Riggs, a professor studying the autonomous travel industry, says this marks a significant moment for these companies. "Being able to turn on the revenue lever for Waymo and Cruise is a big deal," said Riggs. "It's a big deal to their parent companies, it signifies that they're going to start potentially making money off something they've only done spending on right now."

The companies are facing increased scrutiny and high profile incidents where the cars collided with emergency vehicles or stopped traffic. The California Public Utilities Commission voted last week to allow the companies to expand their operations. 

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But, San Francisco's city attorney says he will formally ask the CPUC to reconsider. "We're not opposed to an expansion," said City Attorney David Chiu. "We just want to make sure that if there are going to be more autonomous vehicles on our streets that it's tied to safety metrics."

Chiu has said the recent incidents show the technology is not ready to be rolled out across San Francisco, and says even if the CPUC doesn't change its position, his office is ready to stand their ground and fight the expansion in whatever venue they have to. "We're hoping and hopeful that the CPUC will do the right thing here," said Chiu. "But, if they don't, we are keeping all legal options open."

Since the CPUC gave its authorization for the driverless car companies to expand operations thousands of people have registered for the service, the companies are approving new riders slowly.

And since the high profile incidents, where the autonomous vehicles collided with a fire truck or seemed to get stuck, the California DMV has asked both companies for a 50% reduction in their fleet size, which Cruise has said it will do.