There's no easy fix to America's supply chain problem, but a major issue is a lack of drivers. Now a new type of scanner called 4-D LiDar offers a possible solution, which could be a huge step forward for self-driving cars and trucks. San Francisco authorities penned letters to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) asking to slow the expansion of Cruise and Waymo robotaxi services, citing safety concerns. Officials said that although they hope emerging driving automation technology will contribute to improving street safety and enhance equitable and accessible mobility, the expansion of either service "is unreasonable," following recent incidents during which the autonomous vehicles blocked traffic and intruded into active emergency response scenes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Cruise last December.

Uber has launched public robotaxi rides in Las Vegas using Motional's Hyundai Ioniq 5 autonomous EVs with the aim of offering a full driverless service to the public in 2023. It will eventually expand to Los Angeles, where the two companies have been testing autonomous Uber Eats deliveries since May 2022. It's all part of a 10-year agreement between Uber and Motional to offer autonomous ride-hailing and deliveries. The taxi rides will be monitored by safety drivers, with the goal of launching a fully driverless service to the public in 2023. "Today, Motional becomes the first AV company to conduct all-electric autonomous rides on the Uber network for public passengers," said Motional VP Akshay Jaising.

Waymo has opened up its fully driverless ride-hail service in downtown Phoenix to all members of the general public in a significant expansion of the technology in a major city. The news comes a day after Waymo secured its driverless deployment permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which allows Waymo to charge for autonomous services, such as delivery, in San Francisco -- and it's a step toward full driverless taxi deployment in the Golden State. The company, a subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet, had previously been operating the driverless service in downtown Phoenix only for people in its'trusted tester' program. Trusted testers were prohibited from sharing their experiences on social media or with journalists and had to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Waymo's offering in downtown Phoenix will allow anyone who downloads the app and hails a ride in Waymo's service area to pay for what the company calls a'rider-only' experience in one of its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace EVs.

California regulators on Thursday gave a robotic taxi service the green light to begin charging passengers for driverless rides in San Francisco, a first in a state where dozens of companies have been trying to train vehicles to steer themselves on increasingly congested roads. The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously granted Cruise, a company controlled by automaker General Motors, approval to launch its driverless ride-hailing service. The regulators issued the permit despite safety concerns arising from Cruise's inability to pick up and drop off passengers at the curb in its autonomous taxis, requiring the vehicles to double park in traffic lanes. The ride-hailing service initially will consist of just 30 electric vehicles confined to transporting passengers in less congested parts of San Francisco from 10pm to 6am. Those restrictions are designed to minimize chances of the robotic taxis causing property damage, injuries or death if something goes awry.

Chinese internet giant Baidu and autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai To date, numerous cities in China have allowed autonomous vehicle companies to test self-driving vehicles without a human safety operator in the driver's seat, but this is the first time companies are allowed to run a fully driverless service. That said, the permit does require the companies to have a safety operator present in the front passenger seat, so the regulation is not quite as mature as, say, California's driverless permits which require no human in the vehicle aside from the passenger. Neither Pony nor Baidu will be charging a fee for driverless rides yet, although both companies are currently running commercial services with drivered robotaxis in Yizhuang, Beijing, otherwise referred to as Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area (BJHAD), according to a Baidu spokesperson. This 60-square-kilometer stretch of Beijing, home to about 300,000 residents, is also where both Baidu's and Pony's driverless service will run.

It has been more than a decade in the making, but Waymo's self-driving taxis are officially picking up passengers without a human operator at the wheel. A group of early rider program members in Phoenix, Arizona received a message on this week offering them a free ride with the fully driverless service. Once the passenger is seated and the ride is underway, the car dials Waymo support to address any questions or concerns about the driverless ride – as many riders have never been carted around by a robot. It has been more than a decade in the making, but Waymo's self-driving taxis are officially picking up passengers without a human operator at the wheel. This car is all yours, with no one up front,' the pop-up notification from the Waymo app reads.