THEY SEE ME ROLLIN’

Robotaxis Get Green Light in LA Despite City Officials’ Safety Concerns

City officials have said the tech is still too untested to be safe for the public.

Google’s self-driving car company Waymo won approval from California state regulators on Friday to expand their driverless taxi service into Los Angeles and San Mateo counties. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will allow Waymo to operate the driverless vehicles and transport riders in the areas. But public officials, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, are skeptical that the regulations governing the autonomous cars are robust enough to keep the public safe. Local jurisdictions had no say in the decision by CPUC to approve Waymo’s rollout, and L.A. county supervisor Janice Hahn criticized it as dangerous. “These robotaxis are far too untested and Angelenos shouldn’t be Big Tech’s guinea pigs,” she said in a statement. Last month, Waymo issued a recall because of a software failure that caused a collision between two driverless vehicles and a towed pickup truck in December. But the service, which is already up in San Francisco, could be running in southern California by the summer. It’s unclear exactly when the robotaxis will start roving.