Autonomous vehicles, including those operated by Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise, are causing anxiety and confusion on the streets of San Francisco, as incidents of unexpected stops, delays, and disruptions to public transit are on the rise.
Surveillance videos obtained through public records requests show that autonomous cars have made 92 unplanned stops between May and December 2022, with 88% of them occurring on streets with transit service.
San Francisco officials are concerned about the traffic impacts of allowing unlimited, driverless operations in the city. They are pushing for progress in addressing failures before approving further expansions of autonomous vehicles on the streets.
Transit-dependent travellers, including bus and train riders, are among those most affected by disruptions caused by autonomous vehicles, which can block traffic and hinder public transit operations.
Companies like Waymo and Cruise claim to learn from every incident and are working to improve their technology, but transit advocates and city officials are urging for better regulation and accountability for the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads.