A street car named … Macaroni? Here’s what it's actually like to be a passenger in one of S.F.’s driverless cars.
Once you take a ride in a truly driverless car, it’s impossible to remain a full-on skeptic. It also becomes impossible to ignore the profound impact this new technology could have on society.
But even though Cruise’s technology remains far from perfect, it fulfills its basic function: The car drives itself through the streets of San Francisco. It’s not hard to imagine a near future when Cruise and competitors like Waymo are operating major robotaxi fleets in San Francisco and other cities across the country.
S.F. to feds: Cruise driverless cars keep blocking our roads The city catalogs dozens of incidents where Cruise cars halted in the middle of the roadI tapped a button on the app to unlock the car and hopped inside. Immediately, I was greeted by a high-pitched male voice, like a voice actor on an animated kids’ show, providing some basic safety instructions. Adding to the amusement ride atmosphere, the voice implored me to keep my hands inside the vehicle at all times.
As I took more rides, it quickly became clear to me that Cruise wouldn’t pick me up or drop me off everywhere within the service area. The cars simply wouldn’t travel to certain addresses. A Cruise spokesperson declined to answer a specific question about this, saying only that the company balances numerous factors to optimize pickup and drop off.
During another ride, my car named Bigfoot remained behind a cyclist traveling uphill on Divisadero for several blocks, averaging about seven miles per hour the whole way. Meanwhile, other cars zoomed past in the left lane. “Safety is the driving force behind everything we do, but we’ll never stop trying to innovate and improve," a Cruise spokesperson wrote in a statement responding to specific questions about the vehicles' performance."Our safety record is publicly reported and we’re proud of it."
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