General Motors’ subsidiary Cruise said Monday it is following the law in testing driverless cars in San Francisco and it will push on with its application to start a robotaxi service there.
Cruise, based in San Francisco, has been developing self-driving cars for the past several years for the purpose of starting a commercial robotaxi service in the city.
In a 16-page letter filed late Monday to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Cruise’s lawyer Aichi Daniel wrote: “California Vehicle Code section 22502(b)(1) expressly permits that commercial vehicles are allowed to stop or park more than 18 inches from a curb when ‘reasonably necessary to accomplish the loading or unloading of’ passengers from a vehicle — in other words, to double park.”
The comments are a response to a 24-page letter the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) wrote last Monday to CPUC challenging Cruise’s application for permission to charge for robotaxi rides, according to a Reuters report.
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Mayor’s Office on Disability joined with the SFMTA in submitting official comments challenging Cruise’s application, SFMTA spokesperson Erica Kato said in a statement Monday.
Programmed for human errors
In the Nov. 29 letter, the SFMTA said promotional videos of the Cruise vehicle show passengers illegally getting in and out of the vehicles in the middle of the street instead of at the curb, endangering people and slowing down buses.
Also, the agency said Cruise’s application does not offer service in low-income and minority areas or accommodate people using wheelchairs.
The Cruise videos document 14 total stops for pickup or drop-off of passengers and none of the stops complied with the Vehicle Code and Transportation Code, the agency wrote.
“We’re concerned that Cruise appears to have programmed its automated vehicles to commit human driving errors such as stopping in a travel lane,” SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin said in a statement. “Stopping in a travel lane is not safe. It creates obstacles that other people in the streets have to maneuver around and interferes with their line of sight. These obstacles are especially dangerous for people who are walking, cycling or using a wheelchair.”
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Working with the community
But in its response letter, Cruise wrote that it is following all letters of the law and it has conducted testing across various users, noting it does not develop its products or services in a vacuum.
“(Cruise) is working with the disability community to test early prototypes (of a wheelchair-accessible Cruise Origin),” Daniel wrote in the letter. “Cruise conducted a two-week user study with a dozen users ranging from low vision/blind, wheelchair users, and service animal users to provide feedback on Cruise’s prototype of a wheelchair-accessible version of the Origin.”
Daniel wrote that Cruise vehicle users considered issues such as ease to get in and out of the cars, safety and comfortability. The company also evaluated the ease of use to ensure Cruise’s engineers work toward an equitable and accessible experience.
Cruise also has engaged with community leaders and the general public, “consisting of users with disabilities, to collect feedback virtually from those who could not attend in person.”
The company said its research is ongoing and it will continue to engage the disability community.
As for low-income communities, Daniel wrote that Cruise has received letters of support that “recognize the value of Cruise’s technology in creating a safer, more sustainable, and more accessible transportation sector that improves transportation options for all Californians, especially disadvantaged and low-income communities.”
It noted that the fully electric fleet powered with in-state renewable energy offers “disadvantaged and low-income communities access to electric vehicle technology that they may not otherwise have, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” Daniel added its planned future geographical areas and times of operations will encompass all of San Francisco.
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One permit away …
In October, the California Department of Motor Vehicles granted Cruise its driverless deployment permit, the first step in the process for approval of a commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco.
Cruise said it was required to test its vehicles for at least 30 days before it could apply for the commercial license, which it did.
GM CEO Mary Barra has said she is “pretty confident” that by next year the driver will be out of Cruise vehicles and Cruise will start commercial operations for autonomous robotaxi and delivery services.
“As we speak, Cruise is just one state-level approval away from full regulatory approval to charge customers for rides in San Francisco, and it is still the only company with a permit to provide full driverless ride-hail service in the city,” Barra said in October.
The following month, Cruise applied to the California Public Utilities Commission for the permission to charge a fare for rides. The agency has final say over whether Cruise can do so or not.
Delve into safety
The SFMTA wants Cruise’s application denied unless it can prove its automated systems can recognize lawful on-street parking, can parallel park and pull into parking lots.
Tumlin said the SFMTA is “excited” about the potential of self-driving cars, but the agency wants federal, state and local governments to collaborate to make sure the new ride services and technologies are safe.
“Cruise has only delivered 17 passenger service trips under its testing permit, so it seems unlikely that the safety of its passenger loading and unloading practices and their consequences for other street users have been adequately explored,” Tumlin said. “The CPUC should thoroughly delve into these safety concerns before granting Cruise this permit.”
But Cruise said its letter “demonstrates that Cruise has satisfied the commission’s requirements for a Driverless Deployment Permit. Cruise therefore respectfully requests that the commission approve its application for a Driverless Deployment Permit at the next possible commission meeting.”
Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.