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from the they-drive-just-like-the-locals dept.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/uber-halts-self-driving-car-pilot-sf/
Uber's self-driving car saga in San Francisco has come to an end, for now. The announcement that the ride-hail giant is halting its pilot of self-driving vehicles came minutes after the DMV announced late Wednesday afternoon that it revoked the vehicle registration of 16 self-driving Uber vehicles, and said they were "improperly issued."
"Concurrently, the department invited Uber to seek a permit so their vehicles can operate legally in California," DMV wrote in a statement. In an announcement released minutes later, an Uber spokesperson wrote, "We have stopped our self-driving pilot in California as the DMV has revoked the registrations for our self-driving cars. We're now looking at where we can redeploy these cars but remain 100 percent committed to California and will be redoubling our efforts to develop workable statewide rules."
[...] At least three of the self-driving vehicles have been caught on video and in photos appearing to run red lights, though Uber has said that those instances have all been due to "human error."
Update:
It looks like Uber is abandoning California completely for its self driving car program for now and moving it to Arizona.
Only a day after the California DMV put a kibosh on Uber's scofflaw self-driving cars in San Francisco, Uber is pulling its program out of the state all together.
Uber's self-driving cars are headed to Arizona, and are going, going, gone.
Previously:
Uber's Self-Driving Cars to be Tested in San Francisco
Uber Won't Comply With the California DMV's Demand to Obtain a Permit for "Self-Driving Cars"
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 25 2016, @05:33PM
Exactly. Google have been working with the CA DMV since they started, For all the joking about it, this generally fits "do no evil"--work with the regulators to satisfy their concerns up front.
Uber first ignored and has now publicly disrespected the DMV and it doesn't appear to be ending well for Uber.
I wonder how this will look elsewhere? I'm in an area where Uber & Lyft are not allowed to operate their normal "ride sharing" services, but they are currently knocking on the door. From local newspaper articles it seems that their approach is to recruit local big shots in the hospitality industry (bar owners, sports team owners with out-of-town fans, convention center operators) and have them act as shills to request approval in media, and then also from the local government(s).
Meanwhile I'm sure the local taxi cab company owners are lobbying hard to maintain their oligopoly.