Driverless Taxi Ecosystem
BI Intelligence

The California state legislature approved a bill that would transfer regulatory authority of taxis from municipalities to the state’s Public Utilities Commission in Sacramento, according to The Verge.

The bill has not yet been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.

The bill aims to lift a number of restrictions that currently limit and regulate the operations of taxis, to allow them to better compete with ride-hailing services. Supporters of the bill, such as co-author Assemblyman Evan Low, argue that it modernizes the regulations on the taxi industry that have not been changed in decades.

But switching the regulatory authority for taxis from localities to the state government could spell trouble once self-driving cars and taxis hit the road, since they rely heavily on local infrastructure information, such as detailed maps that include lanes and traffic levels, as well as real-time information on road construction and closures.

Further, the state government may be less responsive than some local governments, and it's not equipped to respond to technological developments in the market.

Regulatory restrictions present another barrier to bringing self-driving cars and taxi services to market. A lobbying organization formed in April that includes Uber, Ford, and other companies, has launched a nationwide push to change the laws to allow greater legal flexibility for self-driving cars to operate.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has outlined the positives and negatives of self-driving taxis for regulators, including safety concerns and the economic displacement that would occur. These regulatory concerns must first be worked out before there are mass deployments of driverless cars.





Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:


In full the report:

  • Discusses the corporate and societal benefits of a driverless taxi service


