One day after California regulators approved robotaxis for around-the-clock service in San Francisco, things did not go well.
Autonomous vehicles made by Cruise malfunctioned and blocked traffic in the city for more than 15 minutes. Pedestrians reported spotting as many as 10 of Cruise’s driverless cars stopped on and around Vallejo Street in North Beach, trapping human-driven vehicles.
Cruise claimed cell phone service issues related to a nearby music festival, which it said hampered its ability to route the vehicles.
Last Thursday state regulators approved the operation of driverless vehicles from General Motors-backed Cruise and competitor, Alphabet-backed Waymo.