In an aerial view, Chevrolet Cruise autonomous autos sit parked in a staging space on June 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Autonomous car corporations Cruise and Waymo have been testing their autos all through San Francisco and residents are usually not pleased with the issues that the automobiles are bringing to the town.
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Cruise will cut back its robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco, the California Division of Motor Automobiles informed CNBC.
The transfer comes after Cruise autonomous autos had been concerned in a number of crashes in San Francisco this week the place the self-driving automobiles appeared to stall in intersections, together with one on Thursday night time when it collided with a fireplace truck.
The discount is a setback for Cruise, a Common Motors subsidiary, which began providing a paid robotaxi service in San Francisco after it and Alphabet’s Waymo acquired permission to broaden driverless operations and carry paying passengers 24 hours a day throughout San Francisco. Cruise is at present working with a waitlist.
It additionally highlights the rising debate in San Francisco over driverless automobiles. Opponents say they’re harmful and intervene with firefighters and different first responders, whereas defenders say they’re revolutionary and can make getting across the metropolis cheaper and simpler.
“The DMV is investigating current regarding incidents involving Cruise autos in San Francisco,” a DMV spokesperson mentioned in a press release. “The DMV is involved with Cruise and legislation enforcement officers to find out the info and requested Cruise to right away cut back its energetic fleet of working autos by 50% till the investigation is full and Cruise takes applicable corrective actions to enhance street security.”
The DMV mentioned Cruise has agreed to the discount and can have not more than 50 of its autonomous autos working throughout the day and not more than 150 working throughout the night. Cruise mentioned in August it was working 300 automobiles throughout the night time and 100 throughout the day.
A spokesperson for Cruise was not instantly out there for remark outdoors of enterprise hours.
In a weblog submit on Friday night time, Cruises’ San Francisco basic supervisor Greg Dietrerich wrote that the accident with a Cruise car and firetruck on Thursday had “a number of components” that contributed to the incident, together with buildings on the intersection which might be tough to see round. He additionally mentioned the firetruck was driving within the incorrect lane to “bypass” a pink gentle.
“We’ll proceed to work in partnership with regulators and metropolis departments on EMV interactions to cut back the chance of incidents like these occurring once more,” Dietrerich wrote.
Cruise’s fleet was concerned in a number of incidents over the previous week that drew media consideration. Along with the crash with a firetruck, one Cruise car reportedly acquired caught in concrete, and an autonomous car with a passenger acquired hit by a driver. The opposite driver in that incident was operating a pink gentle, based on Cruise. Final weekend, a slew of Cruise autos stalled and slowed site visitors outdoors an outside music competition.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this story.
