Waymo's Peninsula expansion a public safety concern local politician says
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Waymo's driverless, robotaxi service has expanded into areas of the Peninsula, where one local politician sounded the alarm about the tech company, calling the deployment of their vehicles a public safety concern.
In a blog post on Tuesday, the Bay Area-based Alphabet Inc. subsidiary said starting Aug. 6, Waymo One was coming to the Peninsula for the first time with the additions of Daly City, Broadmoor, and Colma to their existing, round-the-clock, public service.
Self-driving car from Waymo and Jaguar, I-Pace, driving in traffic in San Francisco, California, June 14, 2021. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
The blog post's section titled ‘Pushing Boundaries’ says, in June, the driverless ride-hail service removed its waitlist and saw incredible demand in San Francisco.
Not everyone is onboard with the expansion. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors' Vice President David Canepa said Waymo is sneaking into the Peninsula with little warning.
Waymo Bay Area service map from companys blog post.
"When Waymo only gives our police and fire chiefs a single day to comprehend how to deal with robot cars navigating your streets there's a problem," Canepa said.
He said the company has shown behavior that suggests they don't want to engage with cities or counties about "very serious public safety concerns."
"Little notification, little transparency and little outreach has been Waymo's strategy from the start as we've seen the chaos its robotaxis have caused in San Francisco and Phoenix. This is a sneaky company trying to monopolize a market that's not for sale," Canepa's statement read.
This past winter, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors had second thoughts about allowing driverless cars and wanted the California Public Utility Commission to reconsider letting Waymo operate there. In June, the CPUC approved the expansion despite questions about a number of incidents, including collisions involving Waymo's cars.
Ultimately, the board unanimously decided to support Senate Bill 915 to give local governments the power to decide on whether driverless cars should be allowed.
Canepa said he's concerned that Waymo isn't required to communicate with local officials.
"Communicate with our neighbors, make sure you're putting out your message working with police and fire. What they've done is reaffirmed why they need to communicate with local government," Canepa said.
Canepa's tune seems to have changed since 2017, when he boasted, "The future is here!" as he took a demo ride in one of Waymo's cars in Mountain View before posing in front of his ride.
Driverless robotaxi services have argued that drunk driving and dangerous speeds aren't a factor with their fleets, but that didn't stop the California Department of Motor Vehicles from revoking the permit of another driverless car company, Cruise, nearly one year ago.
The General Motors-backed autonomous fleet of vehicles was investigated by federal authorities for possible deficiencies when it comes to pedestrian safety. Cruise made headlines when a woman was struck and dragged by one of their vehicles in a hit-and-run collision that involved two cars. Only the autonomous vehicle remained at the scene of the crash, but the DMV said Cruise failed to shared footage of the crash.
Cruise also made headlines when San Francisco's fire chief said their fleet of vehicles hindered first-responders from arriving to perform duty in what often times are life and death situations.
As for Waymo, at the beginning of the year, one of their vehicles was notoriously set ablaze by a San Francisco Chinatown mob of people. Fortunately, the car was not transporting anyone and no one was injured in that case of vandalism and destruction. Mayor London Breed denounced the violent destruction.
Waymo said it is also expanding its service in the Los Angeles area starting on Wednesday.
KTVU's LaMonica Peters contributed to this story.
Featured
Waymo cars hold up San Francisco traffic after Giants game
Two self-driving Waymo cars appeared to have caused a traffic jam Monday afternoon as fans were getting out of the Giants game.