San Francisco — Executive Director Ting provided an update on autonomous vehicle pilots and testing at the agency’s Sept. 30 meeting. Ting said Waymo has received a driver testing permit at San Francisco International Airport that was initially mapped earlier this year; the airport issued a permit for safety-driver testing that could later move to driverless phases.
Ting said Zoox launched a fully driverless robo-taxi service on the Las Vegas Strip earlier in the month and is testing its purpose-built vehicles in sections of San Francisco, but does not yet have regulatory approval for commercial service in the city. Regarding Tesla, Ting said that while Tesla’s CEO announced plans to launch a public taxi service using autonomous Teslas, the California Department of Motor Vehicles clarified that Tesla does not hold a permit to offer robotaxi services to members of the public. Ting added that Tesla may carry employees with human drivers or test with safety drivers, but may not transport members of the public in autonomous mode.
Discussion vs. decision: This was an informational update; the board did not adopt new policy or issue permits. Ting noted that state regulators, including the DMV and California Public Utilities Commission, have roles in ensuring permit compliance.
Context: The update followed reports on other local and federal transportation topics and framed AV developments as an area of near-term regulatory activity and testing.