California Public Utilities Commission has issued its first ever permits to allow passengers to ride in self-driving cars in San Francisco and San Mateo County.
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The permits were granted on Monday to self-driving vehicle companies Cruise, under General Motors, and Waymo, under Alphabet.
With the Drivered Deployment authorization, both companies are allowed to collect fares from riders and offer autonomous ride-booking services, however, a safety driver must also be present in the vehicle to take control if a situation arises.
Prior to the announcement Cruise and Waymo had only been allowed to provide passenger service on a testing basis without rider payment.
Cruise can now operate on certain San Francisco roads between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at up to 30 miles per hour, while Waymo can operate in designated areas of San Francisco and San Mateo County at up to 65 miles per hour at any time of day.
Neither company is allowed to run the self-driving cars in dense fog or heavy rain due to safety issues.
Cruise is working with CPUC to one day operate their vehicles without a safety driver present.
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