SaveMUNI recently sent the following letter to the California Public Utilities Commission urging them to defer any decision about unrestricted deployment of driverless cars in San Francisco, and to work with San Francisco and other cities to develop an appropriate regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles.
Date: June 22, 2023
SaveMUNI is San Francisco’s only independent public transit advocacy organization, and has been fighting for better transit since 2012.
Our members have witnessed dangerous incidents affecting public safety and Muni service caused by Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) operated by Cruise and Waymo.
We agree with the analysis submitted by the City of San Francisco in its letters to the Commission dated May 31, 2023. We fully support the City’s conclusion that the Commission should “defer consideration of the Draft Resolution and the Cruise and Waymo Advice Letters”
Furthermore we believe that it is bad public policy to make decisions with sweeping long term effects based only on narrow short term considerations.
In addition to public safety concerns, the effect of AVs on public transit needs to be fully evaluated before this potentially disruptive technology can be allowed for unrestricted use in San Francisco. Some experts have even gone so far as to say that AVs will eliminate public transit altogether. However, the City of San Francisco has invested billions of dollars in transit infrastructure, and issued millions of dollars of bonds dependent on parking revenue and transit fares. Failure to allow the City to have a significant role in deployment of these vehicles could cause irreparable harm to the City’s finances.
SaveMUNI recommends that the California Public Utilities Commission defer any decision about unrestricted deployment of AVs in San Francisco. Instead, we urge the Commission to work with San Francisco and other interested cities, to develop a shared regulatory framework that builds on the strengths of the CPUC to develop statewide standards for technology and reporting requirements and the local jurisdictions’ ability to understand the public safety needs and the impact on transit for their residents.
Submitted by:
Bob Feinbaum
President, SaveMUNI
bobf@att.net