Following a controversial run in San Francisco, California, Uber will soon take its driverless vehicles for testing to the streets of Arizona. Uber's self-driving cars were transported by a self-driving truck to Arizona early on Tuesday and are expected to begin tests in the next few weeks.
Unlike in California, where authorities topped Uber's tests because of the lack of permits, Arizona fully supports Uber's driverless cars. The state's governor Doug Ducey has expressed his unqualified support for Uber's testing of the self-driving vehicles, TechCrunch reports.
The Volvo XC90 SUVs equipped with sensors for automated driving are expected to get a warm welcome in Arizona's Phoenix City, where it will pick up passengers as part of tests. Governor Ducey said in a statement that the state will welcome Uber's autonomous vehicles "with open arms and wide open roads," Quartz reports.
In fact, the state has been working hard to attract Uber by having a less regulated environment. State agencies have been directed to take the necessary steps to support the testing of self-driving cars.
Uber's shift to Arizona comes after California's Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of 16 autonomous vehicles in the fleet that Uber deployed in San Francisco. That round of testing was also marred with controversy after a video surfaced of a self-driving Uber beating the red light.
California's government had asked Uber to get a permit for testing, but the company refused and decided to move the testing to Arizona. Uber insisted that it did not need to get permits in San Francisco because the automated vehicles were not completely driverless: there were personnel inside to monitor the process and drive it manually when necessary.
Although many experts view self-driving cars with optimism because of their potential to reduce transportation costs, the technology behind them is still unproven and questions have been raised over their safety, according to the Wall Street Journal. Still, several companies have started to develop their own driverless vehicles, seeing it as the future of transportation.
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