Another California community is concerned about plans to launch the Waymo autonomous vehicle in its jurisdiction, following several incidents involving self-driving cars that resulted in injuries.
State regulators on Wednesday delayed any decision on Waymo’s request to expand its service area from the city of San Francisco to parts of the San Francisco Peninsula and to begin service in Los Angeles. Waymo is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
Last week, San Mateo County requested more information from state regulators before allowing Waymo to operate its driverless vehicles there. The county’s request came after Waymo asked the California Public Utilities Commission to approve plans to expand its automated passenger transportation services in the county and the southwest part of Los Angeles County.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman David J. Canepa said the commission’s decision to suspend Waymo’s application “will provide an opportunity to fully engage the autonomous vehicle maker on our concerns very real public safety issues that have caused all kinds of dangerous situations for firefighters and police in the neighboring city of San Francisco.
The company already serves part of San Francisco, from Lands End to Bernal Heights. The self-driving car maker began offering rides for a limited time in November in Santa Monica, Century City, West Hollywood, Mid-City Koreatwowon and Downtown Los Angeles, giving residents the chance to test ride without driver.
Waymo received approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles days ago for its plans to expand where it can provide its passenger transportation service.
The commission’s pause in deciding Waymo’s expansion request does not affect its current service areas.
San Mateo County Attorney John D. Nibbelin said the county protested the commission’s pending approval, saying the county did not have enough information about the expansion plans nor sufficient engagement with Waymo.
“The “rapid and streamlined” advice letter review process, which is intended for “requests that are neither expected to be controversial nor raise significant policy questions,” is insufficient to develop the evidence needed to fully understand the impacts and the potential challenges of Waymo’s expansion. in San Mateo County will create, including consideration of the different needs and obstacles that Waymo will face operating in San Mateo County, compared to the City and County of San Francisco,” Nibbelin’s letter to the commission.
Officials in San Mateo County and other communities say they want a say in regulating the operations of self-driving car makers.
At a meeting of the county Board of Supervisors on February 13, the board approved a resolution in favor of Senate Bill 915which would grant local governments the power to authorize or prohibit the use of driverless cars on their territory.
Waymo representatives met with some members of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and County Executive Mike Callagy, said Michelle Durand, county communications manager.
“The conversations were quite general, but Waymo did not provide any details on its plans to operate in San Mateo County, saying those are still in development,” Durand said.
For the record:
1:33 p.m., February 21, 2024An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of a Waymo spokesperson. This is Julia Ilina.
Waymo spokeswoman Julia Ilina said that before the company’s request to expand its service area, it reached out to stakeholders including county officials, local first responders, cities, cycling coalitions and others.
“Our briefings included information about Waymo’s mission, experience and how our technology works,” Ilina said.
“Additionally, we have been transparent with stakeholders about our interest in expanding Waymo’s commercial ridesharing service for members of the public to include cities across the Peninsula.”
Currently, local jurisdictions have no say in the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass said her city should have a say in how these vehicles are regulated and asked state regulators in November to increase their oversight of companies that operate autonomous vehicles. In August, a Waymo car initially failed to stop for a traffic officer who was signaling eastbound and westbound traffic to stop at Beaudry Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. No injuries were reported in this incident.
On February 7, a cyclist was injured in San Francisco by a Waymo vehicle. SFGate reported that the vehicle stopped at a four-way intersection before continuing; a large truck was passing in the opposite direction. A cyclist was near the truck and crossing the path of the Waymo vehicle. When the cyclist became visible, the Waymo vehicle applied its brakes but was unable to avoid the collision. The cyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
