Uber Pulls Self-Driving Volvos Off San Francisco Streets

Less than a week after Uber was ordered to stop testing its

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by Brad Anderson

December 22, 2016 at 17:26

Less than a week after Uber was ordered to stop testing its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and four days after the company refused, the ride-sharing firm has complied and pulled its self-driving Volvos off the street.

On Wednesday, the state Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of the 16 autonomous Ubers with the ability to drive themselves with passengers on board.

In a letter sent to Uber, the DMV said that as the Volvos were not marked as test vehicles, they shouldn’t have been issued with registrations and required autonomous vehicle permits.

The director of the DMV, Jean Shiomoto added “I appreciate the action that Uber has taken in the interest of public safety.”

Initially, Uber asserted that it didn’t require a permit for the XC90s as they required monitoring by a human driver. However, the state’s attorney general and the DMV disagree and now say that the self-driving program can only recommence in San Francisco if Uber obtains a permit.

In a statement, Uber said “We’re now looking at where we can redeploy these cars but remain 100 percent committed to California and will be redoubling our efforts to develop workable statewide rules.”