SF Examiner – Why Market Street isn’t Waymo’s final frontier in SF
See original article by Greg Wong at SF Examiner
Waymo robotaxis can drive down almost every street in San Francisco, with Mayor Daniel Lurie announcing last week that the Alphabet-owned autonomous-vehicle firm has the green light to map Market Street.
That’s the first step for Waymo eventually operating along the major transportation artery, which is currently closed to most private vehicles. Market Street — aside from San Francisco International Airport and The City’s freeways — is far and away the busiest and most prominent road in which the ever-present-yet-nascent technology doesn’t run with commercial passengers.
Many San Franciscans might’ve been surprised to learn that it doesn’t, given the ubiquity of the company’s white Jaguars on many of The City’s streets. So, where else is off limits for Waymo? Like a lot of the particulars surrounding the company, the answer is unclear.
When asked by The Examiner if there was any other San Francisco street the company does not operate on, Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna responded that The City “has some unique lanes of traffic that are restricted to certain types of vehicles, though none as large or notable as Market Street.”
But Barna said she did not have a list of where those other ones are.
Waymo is able to operate everywhere other commercial and private vehicles can in San Francisco, according to the SFMTA. That includes Slow Streets, where cars must slow down significantly and navigate around barriers, residents, and parklets.
Just because Waymo can drive everywhere doesn’t mean they do, according to agency officials. That’s the case with Market Street.
Since 2020, all of Market Street east of 10th Street has been open only to Muni buses, taxis and commercial vehicles. Waymo’s self-driving vehicles are considered the latter. Because Uber and Lyft drivers give rides in their personal cars, which are not licensed for commercial use, they can’t drive on Market.
But while Waymo is legally permitted to charge for rides along Market, the company just has chosen not to so far “out of respect for the intentions of the previous Better Market Street program,” Barna said. That initiative is part The City’s ongoing effort to revitalize the historic road by opening it up to more foot and bicycle traffic.
See original article by Greg Wong at SF Examiner
