California state regulators have put on hold Waymo’s plan to expand its robot taxi service in Los Angeles and areas south of San Francisco. The ruling follows several incidents involving the Alphabet-owned company’s driverless vehicles, including one in which an autonomous Waymo vehicle crashed into a cyclist, causing minor injuries.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which voted last summer to allow 24-hour robo-taxi companies, has now rejected Waymo’s request for expanded service and won’t hear the matter again until July.
The suspension won’t affect the company’s ability to operate in its current service area, which includes most of San Francisco as well as parts of Los Angeles, but it will give regulators more time to evaluate Waymo’s plans to expand further in the state.
Earlier this month, a crowd smashed the windows of a driverless Waymo vehicle and eventually set it on fire, which it said epitomized the displeasure many city residents feel about autonomous vehicles.
Source: The Verge
