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The company already has a substantial list of existing incidents in Austin. Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news. Qadri said he’s pleased with Cruise's decision to suspend services. “There will be situations where the vehicle will experience something where it’s uncertain of what to do next. So when it doesn’t know what to do, it will default to its safest action, which is pulling over,” he said. Staples said the company has not heard much about that specific issue.
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Part of this involves taking a hard look inwards and at how we do work at Cruise, even if it means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult. Cruise had so many Chevy Bolts, the company ran out of spaces to charge the battery-powered vehicles. Three large propane generators were brought in on trailers to 4716 East Fifth Street near Springdale Avenue. The company has also been cutting contract workers that supported the company’s ride-hailing services.
Despite concerns, driverless car company aims for launch in Houston by end of 2023 - Houston Public Media
Despite concerns, driverless car company aims for launch in Houston by end of 2023.
Posted: Wed, 27 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Cruise driverless cars cause traffic jam in West Campus neighborhood
Cruise suspends all driverless car operations in Texas as Austin prepares for next steps - KVUE.com
Cruise suspends all driverless car operations in Texas as Austin prepares for next steps.
Posted: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Cities will always be at a disadvantage in these types of fights. California, in particular, has shown a willingness to set aside local concerns about traffic, labor, and safety for the unimpeded progress of Big Tech companies. In 2020, voters approved a ballot measure to allow companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash to continue treating their workers like independent contractors rather than employees. While such actions are certainly not condoned, they underscore the concerns some have about the technology’s reliability and the use of cities as testing grounds for these cutting-edge vehicles. Earlier in September, Austin firefighters responded to a car crash around 3 a.m.
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The reason, according to Cruise, is that its cars are limited to traveling at 25 mph, so its routes are limited to specific roads—like those in residential neighborhoods. Residents in Austin, Texas are fed up with Cruise-induced traffic jams—just like Californians. “As someone who has honestly dealt with Cruise cars myself … it never seemed like they were ready for prime time,” he said. In an email to KUT, the company said the decision is not related to any new on-road incidents.
Cruise suspends self-driving car operations in Austin, nationwide
The cars have had their fair share of issues — including dropping off and picking up passengers in traffic lanes. KUT multimedia producer Michael Minasi said during a ride Thursday night, his Cruise (named "Cookie") successfully avoided a parked car and warned him to watch out for cyclists when dropping him off by a bike lane. After his ride, he watched the car stop midturn to wait for a pedestrian crossing the street. "And the fact that it's in a testing phase but there's not the safeguard of a human in the front concerns me." "The industry's going to have to do a lot more diligence to get us to a place where these vehicles can safely operate," said Council Member Zo Qadri, whose downtown district has been a hot spot for Cruise complaints.
As of Wednesday, the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department had received 42 complaints about Cruise vehicles since July. None of those incidents have resulted in injury, the department said. Peskin wants the city to “slow down or walk back” the expanded rollout of robot cars. That could include requesting another hearing or another vote from the CPUC.
Austin's first responders grappled with how to manage Cruise's robot cars and their "alarming" behavior, records obtained by KUT show. Austin City Council member Paige Ellis, who chairs the city’s mobility committee, said Austinites had complained the city wasn’t doing enough to vet Cruise. The city is limited in its ability to regulate self-driving cars, she said. Self-driving car company Cruise has suspended operations nationwide, including in Austin. Less than a week ago, I wrote about the big win for Cruise and Waymo in San Francisco.
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NPR reported that before the vote there were six hours of public testimony, including reports from first responders that self-driving vehicles got in the way of 55 rescue operations. Residents also weighed in, quoting the fire chief, who had said the cars were "not ready for prime time." Many have claimed there will be less traffic and less driving because fewer people will own cars.
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The company did not say if Austin workers were affected or how many positions were cut. The company, which announced the latest change in a blog post Tuesday, said it plans to operate its vehicles in closed-course training environments and simulation programs during the pause. Cruise vehicles will no longer be on Austin streets – at least for now.
The weariness came through the testimony of dozens of people who waited hours to say their piece during the CPUC commission. Austin's internal reporting system was one of several improvised responses by local officials powerless to regulate an experimental new industry that's using Austin's streets as a laboratory. The Texas Legislature stopped cities from regulating self-driving cars in 2017.
Cruise cars are coded to default to the safest possible action — even if that sometimes means stopping in the middle of a road with hazards flashing when a danger is detected. There’s a bunch of drunk college students out, you know,” said Nico Prada. Our expanded ODD will help to reduce concentration of vehicles and provide more services to the places customers want to be. It was a crowded, challenging environment; and, there was no pedestrian, vehicle or property damage.
In one incident, a pedestrian was struck by a Cruise vehicle after being hit by a human-driven vehicle in an adjacent lane. Cruise said its vehicle “braked aggressively” to dampen the impact. Another incident involving a pedestrian didn’t result in serious injury, the firm said. Prada is a civil engineering student, specializing in transportation. He isn’t against driverless cars but is not comfortable with them in such a busy area of Austin. According to the team at Cruise, the fleet ended up in a high-demand area, which also brought with it a slew of pedestrian and passenger vehicle traffic.
They acknowledged the inconvenience caused by the congestion and laid out their plans to expand the Operational Design Domain (ODD) to reduce vehicle density in high-demand areas and enhance service quality. In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed a law preventing local officials from making their own rules like requiring companies to register or pay fees. The companies argued driverless vehicles are actually safer than human-driven ones. A day later, a bunch of Cruise robotaxis reportedly created a big traffic jam in The Golden City.
The code is then tweaked and edited, and the robot is sent back into the hallway for further testing. North Austin resident Keaton Peters said he saw several Cruise cars recently when he was on his way to a gig at Hole in the Wall on Guadalupe Street. But I think having a conversation with our state, you know, counterparts is extremely important for me, for them to kind of raise the alarm bells on this. And I think it’s extremely important for constituents,” said Qadri. “I would hope the state is able to kind of come in and help out with a lot of these concerns,” said Qadri.
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