Autonomous Vehicles

The California Department of Motor Vehicles last fall expanded Waymo’s Northern California and Southern California coverage areas, with Napa County now included.

Tech-laden self-driving vehicles could be what tips the scales toward congestion pricing systems. As they add to urban traffic woes, cities will get to decide what happens and when.

The autonomous driving technology company has announced a new testing phase that will bring its ride-hailing to parts of the city. Its electric Zeekr RT minivans will be out in areas including Pacific Beach.

The Texas-based electric vehicle maker has applied to build a charging hub with 56 stalls for autonomous cabs. The facility would serve its private ride-hailing fleet, and not the general public.

A new report from the Urbanism Next Center and the Shared-Use Mobility Center examines the varied regulatory landscape for shared mobility. Regulations can help cities shape new forms of travel.

New restrictions will force the robots to move no faster than 7 mph on sidewalks, yield the right of way to pedestrians, and not loiter for longer than 30 minutes, unless they are in the process of delivering food.

The move applies to 3,791 vehicles using Waymo’s fifth- and sixth-generation Automated Driving System. During severe weather in April in San Antonio, a Waymo entered a flooded and impassable road.

Whether the autonomous vehicle market develops as shared robotaxi fleets or individually owned cars could have large impacts on cities and land use. It may not be immediate, but planning is vital, experts said.

With so many new, transformative forms of transportation tech, mobility experts caution, don’t forget about the basics like a fast, frequent and comprehensive bus system, or finished sidewalks.

Autonomous vehicles, sidewalk robots and other technologies in the urban landscape are scooping up new caches of data. Cities, in turn, are using this information in novel ways.

A flood swept away an empty Waymo robotaxi April 20, and the ride-hailing service has been shut down citywide since. The company is reviewing its operations in the city to refine flood monitoring mitigations.

A coalition of unions representing everyone from bus drivers to construction workers lobbied at the Statehouse against legislation that would pilot driverless vehicles in Chicago and elsewhere in the state.

Deploying the haulers on the Interstate 35 corridor is intended to evaluate their performance in real-life conditions. The highway from Laredo to Temple is one of the state’s busiest trade corridors.

The robots have shattered two city bus shelters within the last week, fueling heated discussion amongst Chicago humans who say they shouldn’t have to share the public way with automatons.

Tesla Inc. and Waymo have reported more crashes in Austin, Texas, over the course of the past month as both companies face increasing pressure to improve their self-driving vehicle technology.

Texas 130, a toll road linking Austin and San Antonio, will serve as a corridor for testing cab-less freight haulers. The firms involved characterized the highway as a strategic route for the region.

The public has come to expect autonomous vehicles to be perfect drivers. But if that safety bar is too high, where should it be set, experts considered at a recent national safety forum.

The proposed legislation would, its sponsor said, create a “clear and predictable framework” for autonomous vehicles. Opponents say it doesn’t do enough to safeguard road safety and jobs.