Waymo might be expanding its autonomous taxi services to northern cities like Minneapolis and Detroit, but back in Santa Monica, the company’s strained relationship with local residents has reached a breaking point.
According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, the city council has issued a formal demand that Waymo end overnight operations at two charging facilities there. City counselors unanimously approved the measure, which doesn’t mention Waymo by name, but instead orders two lots the company uses to charge and dispatch vehicles to cease nighttime operations.
I think you’re both right. What’s really important is the lives at stake, and only the software can really meaningfully improve, but the incentives aren’t there right now to make those improvements happen.
One thing to consider though, is the incentives can always be tweaked. Maybe the robo taxi company barely blinks at a $100,000 fine, they chuckle about a $1 million fine, do they still laugh about a $50 million fine? They may really start to sweat over a $200 million fine. And hey, I can think of larger numbers, we can always provide them a better incentive (while financing the state).