Uber challenges the government of California and maintains cars without driver

Its success has put the taxi sector up in arms

   Uber said on Friday he plans to keep his cars without a driver on the streets of San Francisco, defying the order of the state government of California to suspend this pilot program. "With all our respect, we disagree with the interpretation of the autonomous regulation of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of California, in particular that Uber needs a permit to operate in San Francisco," said Anthony Levandowski, vice president for technologies advanced of Uber, in press conference.

Levandowski said that their cars still "need to be supervised by an operator at all times." The executive explained that Uber does not plan to obtain a state permit and plans to continue transporting passengers in San Francisco, despite the threat of legal action.

   In a letter to Uber, DMV attorney Brian Soublet defended Thursday that the permit is necessary to protect users. "It is illegal for the company to operate vehicles without a driver on public roads until it receives a test permit for autonomous vehicles," the lawyer wrote. Twenty companies have been approved to test a total of 130 vehicles, he said.

Uber has been valued at more than 60,000 million dollars, thanks to its service of travel through private vehicles that users can hire through a mobile application. Its success has put the taxi sector up in arms, worried about how its clientele has been reduced by the competitive prices offered by Uber.