Uber Halts Self-Driving Cars In San Francisco, Moves Program To Arizona
UPDATE, DEC. 22, 1:26 P.M. PT: Uber announced today that it would move its driverless car pilot program to Arizona. “We’ll be expanding our self-driving pilot there in the next few weeks, and we’re excited to have the support of Governor Ducey,” an Uber spokeswoman said.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The DMV just revoked the registrations for all of Uber’s self-driving cars in San Francisco, forcing them off the streets after only one week on the job.
Uber picked a fight with California officials when it refused to get a permit for its driverless cars, and the DMV struck back, saying the registrations were improperly issued because the cars were not clearly marked as test vehicles, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Locals also flagged incidents where self-driving Ubers ran red lights and turned through bike lanes, despite operators in all vehicles.
It’s not clear what Uber will do now—the company could deploy its cars elsewhere and try its luck in another city, or jump through the regulatory hoops to get a DMV permit. [SFC]
