Uber stops self-driving car programme in California

Uber Technologies pulled its self-driving cars from San Francisco’s streets after the state of California revoked registrations for the vehicles. The move impacted 16 Uber automobiles, the Department of Motor Vehicles wrote in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday. The agency also issued a letter to the company inviting it to apply for a registration for autonomous vehicle testing, saying that it has a dedicated team to expedite the process. Uber said it had stopped using the cars in the state. Uber said last week it began rolling out its selfdriving vehicles in its hometown of San Francisco without seeking permission from authorities. The company argued it hadn’t behaved any differently than Tesla Motors, which makes electric cars that include a feature called Autopilot. Almost since its inception in 2009, Uber has run afoul of regulators in its home state and elsewhere, usually over taxi and labor rules. In the case of self-driving cars, Uber said its vehicles require oversight by a human driver and therefore shouldn’t qualify under California’s autonomous-driving rules. The state attorney general threatened legal action last week if the company continued operating the automobiles without a permit. Uber suggested Wednesday it would try to shape future regulation instead of filing the paperwork. “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 wrote in an e-mailed statement.