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About two dozen drivers and supporters spoke or held up signs
calling for safer streets and greater accountability outside the
offices of the California Public Utilities Commission, which met
Friday to consider further regulations on autonomous vehicles.
A steady stream of Waymo cars drove past the protest, a
testament to the growing ubiquity of the white cars in San
Francisco.
“I personally am not against technology; what I am against is
unfair treatment," said Joseph Augusto, who drives for both Uber
and Lyft. "We have these people, these companies, these
autonomous vehicle companies who are driving around the city,
and they don’t seem to be held to the same standards as us
drivers.”
The California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Uber
and Lyft, is refining and expanding policies around autonomous
robotaxis as the industry grows. The California Gig Workers
Union says the vehicles should be removed from streets until
safety concerns are addressed.
The state agency said it had no comment on the protest.
A spokesperson for Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent
company, Alphabet, said Waymo "is on a mission to be the world’s
most trusted driver, making it safe, more accessible and more
sustainable for riders to get around.”
Hobbled Waymos blocked San Francisco streets during a mass power
outage days before Christmas, forcing the company to pause
service and raising questions about the cars’ ability to adapt
to real-world driving conditions.
In September, a Waymo pulled an illegal U-turn in front of a
sign telling drivers not to do that, but San Bruno police could
not issue a ticket because there was no human driver. In
October, a Waymo crushed a popular neighborhood cat named Kit
Kat.
Augusto, the driver, said he saw Waymos stalled at intersections
as people darted around them on Dec. 20 when the lights went out
across San Francisco.
“There were a lot of Waymos around. Just randomly all over the
city and there’s no plan,” he said.
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