City takes back streets from tech

Tired of San Francisco streets being used as a testing ground for delivery technology and transportation apps, city leaders are now requiring businesses to get permits before trying out new hi-tech ideas in public.

Supporters of the legislation, which the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved yesterday (NZ time), say it is the first of its kind in the United States.

They say it is long overdue in a city that’s a hub for major tech companies but is more accustomed to reacting to the sudden arrival of new technology – such as when hundreds of dockless electric scooters appeared overnight last year. The e-scooter trend has led to complaints from people in cities across the country.

The tech industry has showered San Francisco with high-paying jobs and cemented its reputation as a place for big ideas, but the success of homegrown companies Airbnb, Lyft and Uber has vexed some residents as streets have become more congested and a housing shortage has worsened.

‘‘I support innovation and technology, but our residents are not guinea pigs, and our public infrastructure is not a free-for-all,’’ said Board of Supervisors president Norman Yee, who introduced the legislation.

The Office of Emerging Technology will serve as a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs who want to test their products in San Francisco’s public space. Companies will not be allowed to experiment unless the office declares the tech in question to be a ‘‘net public good’’.

Companies that share data, ensure public safety and privacy when testing, and promote job creation will fare better than those that don’t.

The office will have oversight over new technology launched on, above or below city property or on public rightof-ways, but the legislation does not spell out all the possible technologies the office would oversee.

Norman Yee

San Francisco Board of Supervisors

A man walks past an electric scooter dumped in a rubbish bin in San Francisco. City leaders are considering requiring businesses to get permits before they try out their new hi-tech ideas in public.

Yee said hoverboards, delivery drones and data-gathering devices on sidewalks or other public infrastructure would be subject to regulation.

He had even heard of a business that wanted to promote low-tech pogo sticks as transportation. ‘‘Let’s put a stop to that before they drop 10,000 pogo sticks into the city.’’

San Francisco political strategist Jon Golinger said it was time that City Hall took control after nearly a decade of businesses being allowed free rein.

This lenience had made some people wealthy but didn’t provide enough public good to a city grappling with skyrocketing housing prices, growing homelessness and widening income inequality, he said.

‘‘It had a detrimental and lasting effect on the quality of life and the health of our city.’’

For instance, San Francisco did not start regulating Airbnb until 2014, years after the company started advertising short-term rentals despite a city law that prohibited such stays.

Officials also are tangling with Uber and Lyft over congestion, data and driver pay, among other issues.

Yee had the idea for regulation nearly two years ago, after he passed legislation requiring companies to get permits to test delivery robots.

The idea gained more urgency after hundreds of dockless scooters appeared on city sidewalks in 2018, providing a fun ride for some but irritation for others. The city moved to ban the scooters until officials could regulate them. –AP

‘‘I support innovation . . . but our residents are not guinea pigs, and our public infrastructure is not a free-for-all.’’