Californian Companies Receive Permission For Self-Driving Car Services

People look at the Waymo car, formerly the Google self-driving car project, during the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2019 in Las Vegas on Jan. 9, 2019. (David McNew/AFP/Getty Images)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has authorized two companies, Waymo and Cruise, to offer autonomous vehicle (AV) passenger services in the state. AVs refer to driverless vehicles.

Earlier, the companies were permitted to provide passenger services under the Drivered Pilot program. This allowed Waymo and Cruise to carry out testing of their AV service but with prohibitions on ride-sharing and collection of fares. According to the new authorization issued on Feb. 28, the CPUC granted Drivered Deployment permits to Waymo and Cruise. This allows the companies to offer shared rides while collecting fares from passengers.

Waymo can now offer Drivered Deployment services at certain parts of San Mateo and San Francisco counties, with driving speeds limited to 65 mph, while Cruise can provide services on selected public roads in San Francisco between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., with a speed limit of 30 mph.

Both companies will not be authorized to operate under heavy rain or fog. Under the Drivered Deployment categorization, safety drivers are required to be present inside the vehicles, ready to take control when the situation demands it.

“Autonomous vehicles are a breakthrough technology that hold the potential to improve safety for all road users, and issuing these permits allowing for fare collection and shared rides is an important and measured step toward the commercialization and expansion of the service,” said Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma.

“As the technology is deployed, we will keep a close eye on the impacts of autonomous vehicles on safety, the environment, and on disadvantaged communities.”

The CPUC, which regulates the AV passenger service in the state, has adopted four goals for such services, which includes (a) ensuring the safety of passengers, (b) expanding the benefit for AVs to all Californians, including those with disabilities, (c) cutting down greenhouse gas emissions, toxic air contaminants, etc., and (d) providing more transportation options for citizens, specifically those in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

“100’s of riders have used #WaymoOne across San Francisco since we launched our Trusted Tester program in August ‘21, and we have 10’s of thousands of riders on the waitlist. We’ll begin offering paid trips through the program in the coming weeks,” Waymo said in a March 1 tweet.

The company said that it has learned “a lot” from operating its AV commercial ride-hail service in Arizona and will apply them in San Francisco.

Cruise had started offering free AV rides in February. The company’s vice president for global government affairs, Prashanthi Raman, called the CPUC decision “another positive incremental step forward.”

Cruise has requested CPUC for the next-level categorization, Driverless Deployment, permit which does not require the presence of a safety driver in the vehicle. Waymo is a self-driving car project from Google, also known as The Google Car, while Cruise is owned by GM.