Along for the Ride #199
AVs can now operate in SF 24/7 - but should they?
Heya friends, happy friday.
Lots happened in the last week, including but certainly not limited to Waymo and Cruise receiving approvals to provide 24/7 service in San Francisco. Did a Cruise also drive into wet concrete a few days later? Yes. Did their entire network nearly kaput because of a music festival? Also yes. [Cruise is now claiming that the “network error” was from one person interfering with a singular car which then caused a whole flock of their vehicles to go belly up too…. I am really not sure which excuse is worse.]
While AV tech may be ~cool~ and a feat of human creation, they are not a dedicated solution to combatting climate change, improving road safety, and improving access to transportation. They are a tool to get more people in cars. When these companies measure success it’s by the number of car trips delivered.
Infrastructure improvements and policy changes create permanent and long-lasting impacts that make all road users safer and help spur mode shift. We can choose to make interactions with cars “better”—or we can think bigger and consider how we transform cities to ensure every road user, regardless of their mode of transportation, has access to safe streets that prevent traffic violence from the get-go.
Ok, onto the news and more details about this hot topic… 🔥
Cruise and Waymo approved for 24/7 operations in SF
As mentioned above, last week four California Public Utility Company (CPUC) commissioners approved 24/7 service of Waymo and Cruise. Was one of the commissioners on Cruise’s payroll as Managing Counsel in 2022? Yup. Did the vote seem to listen to concerns from the Mayor’s office, SFMTA, SF Fire Department, SF Police Department, safer street activists, and grassroots organizers? Nope. Is it a complete anomaly that these groups agree about anything? 1,000%.
It would be one thing if the previous trials were going well, but with the new expansion coming off the back of months of escalating reports of erratic driving from AVs… it’s hard to see if the CPUC had the public interest in mind or the bottom line of VC companies that are blowing through money at remarkable speed (Cruise spends approx $6M a day). District supervisor Peskin is already considering legal action.
The Guardian had a great piece about the approvals. A favourite quote from the piece: “Given the amount of problems on the street already caused by robot cars, we have a hunch things will not go as smoothly as GM and Google hope,” [Safe Street Rebel] said. “The only path forward to healthier, safer, more sustainable cities is taking cars off the street, not adding new ones. And of course, more cones.”
And because sometimes clickbait is fun, here’s a piece about how AVs are being used for “no boundaries” sex in the city too (lol, SF Standard).
San Francisco’s Treasure Island also gets an AV bus
The small island between San Francisco and the East Bay has an electric Navya shuttle pilot that opened this week. The shuttle is free for riders, and has stops around the island it passes in a continuous loop. It’s nice to see some level of AV in the city actually operate as a public service with shared, free service available to all residents—no app or other technology needed. The pilot will run for nine months and all shuttles will have an attendant available.
Bloomberg has a piece about a new study that quantifies the monetary loss from interstate development that displaced residents and neighbourhoods in Washington, DC and Atlanta.
“In Atlanta, the report found that the 11-mile segment of Interstate 20 that crosses through the city destroyed around 2,200 homes and displaced 7,500 people, 40% of whom were Black. The value of those homes would today add up to $676 million in equity for owners. The loss also cost the city at least $6.4 million in annual property taxes, based on the 2023 tax rate.”
The more ya know!
AVs are coming to Los Angeles (Slate), and Cruise brings testing to Atlanta (TechCrunch)
France plans to tax air travel to help fund $110M in rail improvements across the country (we love) (Forbes)
Public space as an antidote to loneliness (Project for Public Spaces)
Is building bike lanes the next big infrastructure push? (Streetsblog)
China’s car companies are becoming tech companies
This article considers how consumer expectations of cars are shifting, as they expect vehicles to be tech products, like smartphones. Yes, AV technology is part of this pattern, but it’s also in the broader user experience. Some companies are using facial recognition software to monitor driver fatigue and to identify when children have been left in the car.
Related: The race to lead China’s AV market (MIT)
The more ya know!
Californian’s have now invented autonomous roaming bodegas, named Robomart, obviously (TechCrunch)
Pony.ai and Toyota partner to bring L4 AVs to the masses (TechCrunch)
Safe systems pyramids: a new framework for traffic safety (Journal of Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives)
Effects of Connectivity and Automation on Saturation Headway and Capacity at Signalized Intersections (Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
AKA why being safe makes AVs slower overall
Why AVs are one of the hardest problems to solve (The Guardian)
I will note: traffic safety, congestion, and air pollution are far “easier” to solve when political willpower to support sustainable transportation is present. Cars are a tricky problem, safer streets are surprisingly straightforward.
Uber and Lyft drivers offer words of advice to AV companies (Slate)
America’s most tech-forward city has doubts about AVs (WSJ)
Prom on the Prom! San Francisco friends, if you are in / around Golden Gate Park tomorrow, I implore you to check out the Second Annual Prom on the Prom. It is a funny and silly celebration of car-free spaces and there will be dancing, doughnuts, and a Prom court.
Have your say on Oxford Street! London friends, Westminster Council is soliciting feedback for the redesign of Oxford Street. That’s right this is your time to scream from the rooftops that it should be pedestrianized! We all know the Taxi Lobby is probably sending in a bajillion responses to keep car access, so if you want to see something better now is your chance to chime in.
Consultation is running until August 31st and there are two in-person opportunities to have your say coming up as well!
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
