Autonomous Uber Cabs Invade San Francisco Without Permit

Uber has been making a big deal about being the first cab hailing company to employ self-driving vehicles. It first launched the service in the streets of Pittsburg back in September. Apparently, things went well because now, the successful startup is bringing its driverless cabs to San Francisco. Does this hail the end for the city’s taxi companies?

The launch of autonomous vehicles by the company in the coastal city isn’t just as a series of driving tests either. Outfitting Volvo SUVs with numerous cameras and sensors, the vehicles will actually start offering rides to real passengers, TechCrunch reports.

As was the case at Pittsburg and practically every single road test of driverless cars by all car companies, the Uber cabs will have drivers on the passenger side to make sure that no problems occur. It also complies with current laws since driverless cars aren’t allowed on the road without drivers.

In any case, eligibility is not as restrictive as it is in other road tests. Any passenger who uses the app to hail an Uber cab has a chance of getting picked up by one of the autonomous vehicles released by the company.

Andrew J. Hawkins at The Verge had the chance to ride in the backseat of one of the driverless Uber cabs in San Francisco, which he noted had quite a few difference than his experience at Pittsburg. For one thing, only the safety driver was allowed on the front passenger seat. For another, there were times when the safety driver had to take over control in order to do something that the onboard computer might have objected to.

On that note, it is interesting that Uber decided to go ahead with its road tests in a California city when the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles has yet to issue the company a license to operate on public streets. As a result, the DMV actually wrote to the publication, urging Uber to get a permit for its autonomous cabs.