CityLab Daily: Backlash Grows Against Robotaxis Over Safety Concerns

Just a day after Waymo and Cruise won approval to expand paid driverless taxi services in San Francisco, a fleet of robotaxis froze and snarled traffic in a busy neighborhood. Days later, another autonomous vehicle got stuck in wet cement on a construction site, and yet another crashed into a fire truck.

As robotaxis keep getting into mishaps on the road, a public backlash against one of tech’s most-watched industries is growing over traffic and safety concerns. Waymo and Cruise are battling labor unions, the public transit system and city attorney David Chiu, who petitioned California to suspend the expanded fare licenses. If he wins, it could signal that the birthplace of vehicle autonomy is an increasingly difficult place for it to grow up, David Welch and Dana Hull report. Today on CityLab: Robotaxis Are Making Enemies as They Go Around San Francisco