San Francisco's North Beach streets clogged as long line of Cruise robotaxis come to a standstill

Autonomous vehicle taxis have been given the green light to operate in San Francisco. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press)One day after California green-lighted a massive expansion of driverless robotaxis in San Francisco, the implications became clear. At about 11 p.m. Friday, as many as 10 Cruise driverless taxis blocked two narrow streets in the center of the city’s lively North Beach bar and restaurant district. Aaron Peskin, who represents North Beach on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was flooded with texts, emails and videos from constituents as the robotaxis, programmed with artificial intelligence software, sat unresponsive. Cruise has said it plans eventually to deploy thousands of robotaxis in San Francisco.