A vote last week by the California Public Utilities Commission gave the green light to two self-driving ride-hailing companies that want to offer paid service throughout San Francisco at any time of the day. Robotaxis have become something of a nuisance in the city as these driverless cars struggle to learn the ways of the road they share with emergency responders and manned vehicles. Twitter is awash with photos of autonomous cars blocking intersections and swarming locations when they lose connectivity. They also are reportedly becoming a risqué place for their customers to have sex.
An article in The San Francisco Standard found a handful of riders who have admitted to having sex in the unmanned vehicles, and there are likely many more. While sex in taxis isn’t unique to the driverless variety (and is something of a time-honored tradition in some cities) it could become more common as riders become emboldened by the false sense of privacy not having a third-wheel behind the wheel affords.
Between Cruise and Waymo, there are more than 550 driverless taxis capable of operating in San Francisco, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles has granted driverless test permits to Zoox, Nuro, and three other companies. Mercedes-Benz also holds a permit to deploy autonomous vehicles.
Although the rides may feel private, the cabins are under video surveillance, and service calls are recorded. Waymo and Cruise customers are also identifiable to the company, and enroll in their respective services using an app to hail the robotaxis. Racy encounters between consenting adults in vehicles are not explicitly against the law in California and do not appear to go against the code of conduct outlined in either Cruise’s or Waymo’s terms of service posted online, but activities may be visible, which is illegal and could be found offensive to some. Cleanliness of the robotaxis will likely become a concern moving forward, but that’s a problem common to all shared vehicles, manned or not.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles offers several permits available for self-driving taxi companies, including with a test driver present, without a test driver present, and commercial operation. Prior to Thursday’s vote, Waymo and Cruise held permits to offer fared passenger service throughout San Francisco at any time with a safety driver present, and non-fared passenger service throughout San Francisco at any time without a safety driver present. However, Cruise had permits to charge customers for its service from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in certain without a safety driver present. Now both companies are allowed to charge fares for rides at any time of the day.
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