San Francisco's Robot Taxis Take to the Streets
One of the busiest cities in the country is planning to revolutionize transportation by introducing driverless taxis. The two largest self-driving transportation companies, Waymo and Cruise, have announced plans to compete with Uber and Lyft by the end of this year. However, before they can launched, they had to first gain approval from the city and demonstrate that their technology can safely navigate obstacles and challenging driving conditions. Any issues with inconvenience or safety could derail their plans to serve the public.
Cruise, which is General Motors' autonomous car, has been providing rides to passengers in less populated areas of San Francisco since last summer, building credibility. Waymo, a spinoff from Google, has been offering free rides throughout the city as they await approval to commence business. With over 35 million cars driven by people in California alone, the competition between self-driving and human-driven cars is set to be intense as these autonomous companies seek to test their products.
Texas is setting the stage to possibly become the first hotspot for mainstream driverless trucks, thanks to initiatives by companies like Waabi and Aurora Innovation.