The San Francisco test uses modified Volvo XC90s - one shown here on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Uber’s experiment with autonomous cars appears to be off to a star-crossed start in San Francisco, the ride-sharing service acknowledging the modified Volvo CX90s have been experiencing a “problem” or two.
That includes everything from running stop lights, failing to yield to pedestrians and crossing heavily used bike lanes. That’s on top of the legal challenge Uber is facing from the Department of Motor Vehicles for failing to acquire the permit required by California law.
A spokesman for Uber told Britain’s “The Guardian” that the company is racing to resolve an issue that put the city’s bicyclists and pedestrians at risk – no small issue considering there are 200 miles of bike lanes used for 82,000 daily trips in the City by the Bay.
Uber began its autonomous experiment a week ago, expanding a similar project it launched in Pittsburgh – where it operates a technology research center – last September. During a media event in San Francisco,” Mårten Levenstam, vice president of product planning at Volvo Cars, hailed the project as another sign that, “The promise of self-driving ride sharing is becoming a reality.”
Uber began testing a fleet of autonomous Ford Fusion sedans in Pittsburgh last September.
But Uber came under immediate fire from officials of the California DMV who noted that, while 20 other companies have applied for and received permits to test self-driving cars in the state, Uber had notably ignored the requirement.
“This is where science and logic needs to trump blind compliance.” Anthony Levandowski, the head of Uber’s self-driving program, told the Associated Press, when asked why it hadn’t gotten a permit. He also insisted, with some confusing twists of logic, that a project meant to test autonomous vehicle technology somehow wasn’t actually a test of autonomous vehicles.
DMV officials didn’t see things quite that way, quickly sending the ride-sharing company a cease-and-desist letter – which Uber has so far ignored.
(DMV tries to shut down Uber’s autonomous vehicle test. Click Here for more.)
But the “problem” it has experienced, along with a local backlash, could do what the state hasn’t been able to accomplish.
Right from the start, it appears, Uber’s autonomous Volvos were seen committing a number of moving violations, including running red lights and ignoring stop signs. According to The Guardian, the director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition experienced several problems when he was personally taken for a test drive two days before the public launch. He reported that his vehicle made “unsafe right-hook-style turn(s) through a bike lane” twice.
Such a move could pose a risk to the tens of thousands of San Franciscans who ride bicycles every day in the city.
“The fact that they know there’s a dangerous flaw in the technology and persisted in a surprised launch shows a reckless disregard for the safety of people in our streets,” said Coalition spokesman Chris Cassidy.
(Google, FCA plan to launch autonomous ride-sharing pilot program. Click Here for more.)
Local officials note that some of the problems being reported with the Uber cars are among the most dangerous mistakes that could be made, risking crashes with other motor vehicles, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.
The latest problems with the autonomous vehicle program come just as Uber has released its third-quarter financial results showing the company lost $800 million on $1.7 billion in revenues for the third quarter of this year.
(For more on Uber’s earnings, Click Here.)