Cities including Philadelphia knew about Uber’s efforts to circumvent enforcement authorities, by either manipulating the app to show a user that no cars were available or blocking city officials’ credit cards and phone numbers on the app.
The company on Wednesday said it was granted a permit to test two self-driving cars on California public roads. Uber had defied state regulations last year, arguing that its cars do not meet California’s definition of an autonomous vehicle because they require constant monitoring by a person, so they did not require a permit.
California Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez confirmed the permit for Uber to test two self-driving cars on public roads.
Uber will not make the autonomous cars immediately available to passengers, according to an Uber spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The company needs time to build up its fleet and go through the various regulatory requirements such as getting the vehicles smog tested and registered, the spokeswoman added.
