San Francisco Suing California Over Waymo Robotaxi Expansion

The City of San Francisco is suing California regulators over their decision to allow Waymo to increase its robotaxi services in the city.

Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, is now running its self-driving Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis around the clock, and this hasn't gone down well in the Golden Gate City. City Attorney David Chiu is aiming for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to freeze its decision until the state can evaluate self-driving safety regulations. That could result in a halt on all self-driving on-road testing.

Should Chiu and the City of San Francisco emerge victorious and the CPUC's decision be rescinded, Waymo would lose its permit to operate 24/7. According to The Washington Post, the suit notes that «as driverless AVs expanded in San Francisco, members of the public and city officials identified hundreds of safety incidents, including interference with first responders.»

CarBuzz has contacted Waymo for comment on the matter and will update the article with any responses.

It's worth noting that GM-backed Cruise had its permit to operate revoked following a series of safety-related issues. A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt was involved in a traffic collision, which resulted in a pedestrian sustaining injuries after being dragged 20 feet. More on that later, though.

In the ensuing months, reports emerged that Cruise vehicles could not detect children or large holes in the road. To make matters worse, the company was reportedly aware of these defects but maintained its cars were safe. Over the past two years, Cruise vehicles have caused several disruptions in San Francisco.

Surrounded by controversy, Cruise CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt announced his resignation last year. Soon after, the company scaled back its operations to just one city. Company co-founder Dan Kan has also since stepped away from his role.

While Waymo's track record isn't as bad as Cruise's, that's not to say the company hasn't had a controversy or two. According to Forbes, Waymo reported more crashes involving its cars in a two-year period. Between July 2021 and July 2023, the Alphabet-owned firm reported 150 collisions to the NHTSA. Comparatively,