SF Gate – Illegal cars on Market Street surge after Mayor Lurie welcomes Waymo
See original article by Silas Valentino at SF Gate
Mayor Daniel Lurie upset some San Franciscans last year when he authorized Waymo to pick up and drop off passengers on a car-free Market Street, but after the policy turnover, the tech company does not seem interested. Even so, the mayor’s decision allowed other ride-hailing companies to operate on the historic thoroughfare, which has started to confuse private drivers into thinking they, too, can travel on the street.
During the SF Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting on Monday, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency representatives presented a status report on Market Street.
While Market Street is open to commercial vehicles, it’s unavailable to individual drivers between Van Ness Avenue and Steuart Street, near the Embarcadero. Since December, pick-ups and drop-offs at select areas on the street were allowed in Uber and Lyft’s luxury black cars.
Jenny Delumo, a city planner focused on transportation projects, fielded questions on the return of cars and informed the board that only Uber Black has actually started taking the city up on the access.
“We recently heard from Lyft Black that they are piloting a small number of pick-ups and drop-offs,” Delumo said. “And Waymo was not doing pick-up and drop-off on Market Street.”
Lurie’s reversal of a six-year car-free policy triggered wide backlash from transit activists and even other ride-hailing companies at first. Uber threatened to sue the city to gain similar access, ultimately receiving consent, along with Lyft.
Meanwhile, San Francisco transit and street safety advocacy groups braced for impact on one of the city’s widest streets after ride-hailing companies were allowed to operate on it starting Dec. 15.
There has been minimal activity from Uber and Lyft on Market Street over the past several months. And after the mayor’s declaration that Waymo would help kick-start downtown, the robotaxis have yet to answer his call.
At the time of the announcement last year, Lurie’s office said that Waymo on Market Street was “a major step” in revitalizing downtown San Francisco. Lurie called Waymo “another safe and sustainable way” to access shops, theaters, hotels and restaurants. Nicole Gavel, the head of business development and strategic partnerships at Waymo, added in a statement that “serving riders on Market Street is the result of Waymo’s strong collaboration with the city and our community.”
Julia Ilina, a spokesperson for Waymo, explained to SFGATE why it’s not providing pick-up or drop-off directly on Market Street. “Unlike human drivers, we make significant efforts to park appropriately during pick up and drop off,” she wrote in an email. “The pickup and drop-off options currently available on Market would require double parking, potentially impeding transit.”
So far, Delumo told the board that the average number of ride-hailing vehicles on Market Street, mostly Uber Black, is about 10 an hour. Nevertheless, a San Francisco supervisor and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition are concerned that their presence is confusing the general public and has opened the gates for other cars to spill onto Market Street.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who represents District 7 on the western side of the city, said during the hearing that she’s personally seen a rise in illegal driver behavior.
“I ride Market Street on the daily on my bike. … What I have seen is a marked uptick of people in private vehicles after that happened,” Melgar said. “It’s almost like it was carte blanche for people to say, ‘I can do this because Mayor Lurie said it’s OK.’”
See original article by Silas Valentino at SF Gate
