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Eric Risberg/Associated Press
Uber’s grand experiment of a self-driving car service in its hometown officially lasted only a week.
On Wednesday, Uber ended the autonomous car service in San Francisco after defying California officials who had told the company to stop the service because it was illegal. The company lacked the necessary state permits for autonomous driving, state officials have said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the company said it ended the pilot program after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registrations for its self-driving cars.
“We’re now looking at where we can redeploy these cars but remain 100 percent committed to California and will be redoubling our efforts to develop workable statewide rules,” the company said.
Breaking: @CA_DMV revokes registration of 16 self-driving Uber vehicles in San Francisco over permit flap pic.twitter.com/SiRpaqZXHq
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Andrew J. Hawkins (@andyjayhawk)
Dec. 22, 2016
Uber has tended to barrel into new markets by flouting local laws, part of a combative approach to expand globally. Uber began a pilot of its self-driving experiment in Pittsburgh in September, which is continuing.
Yet the defeat in California on self-driving vehicles is one of a growing number of setbacks. The company gave up on its own ride-hailing service in China this year, choosing instead to invest in a local incumbent, Didi Chuxing. It has also turned tail or reduced its presence in other markets, including some cities in Germany.
A day before Uber began its pilot, state regulators were explicit about their demands that the company adhere to the rules.
In a statement on Dec. 13 about the testing of autonomous vehicles, the Department of Motor Vehicles said: “We have a permitting process in place to ensure public safety as this technology is being tested. Twenty manufacturers have already obtained permits to test hundreds of cars on California roads. Uber shall do the same.”
Nonetheless, as recently as Friday, Uber remained defiant. It said that it had no intention of ending its test and that its self-driving cars were still on the road and picking up passengers.
Uber officials contended that under the letter of California law, the company did not need a permit because the Motor Vehicles Department defined autonomous vehicles as those that drive “without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person.”
Uber said its modified, self-driving Volvo XC90s required human oversight, and therefore did not fit California’s definition of an autonomous vehicle. Companies such as Google and Tesla Motors have all gotten such permits.
“This rule just doesn’t apply to us,” Anthony Levandowski, vice president of Uber’s advanced technologies group, said in a conference call with reporters last week. “You don’t need to wear a belt and suspenders and whatever else if you’re wearing a dress.”
