San Francisco got a first-hand glimpse Sunday night at what the future might hold when getting picked up — three overly-priced vodka sodas in — after a concert wraps up. Hint: There’s no one behind the wheel.
San Franciscans have a unique, at times unsettling, window into the technologies of tomorrow — regardless of their compliance or readiness to meet the moment. Self-driving cars, like robotaxis, represent the nexus of all our disdains and fascinations with evolving technologies.
Charli XCX post concert pickups, SF, October 20, 2024 pic.twitter.com/Mku0AMELtG
— Brian Wilt (@brianwilt) October 21, 2024
Since Cruise was booted from operating in San Francisco, Waymo, Alphabet’s leg in the race for the market majority in the robotaxi space, is currently the only City and State-approved autonomous driving enterprise allowed to shuttle people in their driverless cars. Yes, their fleet of robotaxis can be stopped by a simple traffic cone; yes, anecdotal reports of pedestrians being plowed while walking through a crosswalk by these vehicles do exist; yes, Waymo recently did something applaudable — offer discounted trips to riders en route to one of a few local public transit stations.
Robotaxis aren’t going anywhere. They’re only going to become more ubiquitous. Suffice it to say the eerie, admittedly linearly-pleasing line of Waymo cars outside of the Chase Center last night, waiting to whisk away concert attendees, was a sight to behold.
“Charli XCX [post-concert pickups], SF, October 20, 2024,” reads a post on X published by Brian Wilt, denoted “cheerleader” for Waymo. The attached picture shows a line of more than a dozen Waymo robotaxis idling outside the Chase Center where Charli XCX and Troye Sivan held their San Francisco installment of their joint Sweat Tour Sunday evening.
A video shared in the comment section showed additional Waymo robotaxis waiting outside the arena, flashing their hazards as an orchestra of ominous droning was played by sitting Jaguar I-Paces.
The slew of Waymo robotaxis outside the multi-use venue Sunday night represents a cognitive shift in micromobility. San Francisco’s pedestrian-forward and public transit initiatives continue making it not only easier but more logical to live in the city without owning a vehicle.
Since 2016, car ownership in San Francisco has seen persistent year-over-year declines, with the number of registered cars in SF dropping by about 50,000 each year. Put it bluntly: Owning a car in San Francisco is miserable.
Getting your flesh bag transported to and from places inside an electric car without a human behind the wheel is, by all criteria, uncanny. But it sure as hell beats paying $92 parking tickets and hearing the howl of your exhaust roar … because someone stole your catalytic converter … again.
