Uber stops San Francisco self-driving pilot as DMV revoked registrations

Uber has confirmed that it will stop its self-driving pilot in San Francisco, following a meeting today with the California DMV and Attorney General’s office. The DMV revoked the registration on 16 self-driving test vehicles Uber was using in its pilot.

The DMV tells TechCrunch that it invited Uber to complete its permitting process at the same time it revoked it the vehicle registrations. Uber told TechCrunch that it will instead be looking to deploy the vehicles elsewhere for the time being. Here’s Uber’s statement on the matter in full:

We have stopped our self-driving pilot in California as the DMV has revoked the registrations for our self-driving cars. 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.

Uber had begun updating self-driving Volvo X90 SUVs in San Francisco on December 14, providing service to randomly selected uberX customers in the area. It chose not to pursue the permit the state issues to companies for testing autonomous vehicles on public roads, arguing that its cars didn’t require such permits as they could not operate completely autonomously at this stage.

While initially Uber continued its pilot even in the face of regulatory objections, both the DMV and California’s Attorney General’s office said that Uber would face legal repercussions, including injunctive action, if they maintained the active service.

Uber currently operates another trial of its self-driving technology, in Pittsburgh, where its Advanced Technology Group is based. Those trials, which began earlier this year, use Ford Focus vehicles retrofitted with autonomous sensors and onboard computing, and will continue.