Robotaxis under fire for stopping dead in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - Robotaxis are gaining dubious fame for impeding traffic and being an unreliable transportation solution.

The hope is that, in the future, they will become as accepted as cellphones.

Currently, Robotaxis roam the streets of San Francisco. However, on Friday, just one day after the California Public Utilities Commission approved Cruise and Waymo for around-the-clock operations, as many as 10 Cruise vehicles came to a standstill in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, causing traffic congestion.

Cruise attributes these incidents to connectivity problems stemming from heavy cellular usage at the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park.

"It's profoundly frightening and they may well create technological solutions, But as our fire chief has said, 'This is not ready for prime time," said Aaron Peskin, President of the San Franicsco Board of Supervisors.

Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon professor, engineer, and expert in robocar technology, said, "These vehicles need continuous connectivity back to a central office and what the companies say is when they loose the connectivity the cars stop to assure safety."

Residents in San Francisco's Financial District shared their concerns around robotaxis.

Nour Zab said, "It's a new technology. I know they have been doing a lot of work, and they've progressed a lot . But if they're having issues, they're not ready." Sandy Lam added, "I think they have to test a lot of things before for putting this out for the public."

Koopman further observed that the CPUC failed to address the repeated problem of interfering with emergency responders.

"You have this vehicle that's blocking the road and an ambulance can't get through and a fire truck can't get trough, that puts people's lives in danger whether they're in the car or not. The CPUC basically gave the companies a pass on that," Koopman criticized. He continued, "Eventually, these vehicles have to be able to operate safely without connectivity because connectivity will always be broken. That's just the nature of the technology."

Both Cruise and Waymo bear no obligation to provide crucial information to the California Public Utilities Commission, which is legally tasked with overseeing them.

"I think that's a terrible idea. One of the things we know is the way you get safety is by transparency and accountability, and there is very little transparency from these companies on things that really matter on safety to the public," said Koopman.

Autonomous vehicle expert Mary Cummings, an engineering professor at George Mason University, anticipates worsening connectivity issues.

Cruise has not responded to KTVU's repeated inquries for comment on Friday's incident.