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BUT NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO GO FOR A RIDE THE NEXT WAVE IN TRANSPORTATION IS ARRIVING IN SACRAMENTO. DARRELL STEINBERG IS HOPPING IN THE INAUGURAL DRIVE. THE COMPNY, PHANTOM AUT AND THE CITY, PARTNERING TO BEGIN TEST DRIVING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES ON PUBLIC STREETS. >> I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE BEN, OUR REMOTE OPERATOR. VICKI: ALTHOUGH A EMPLOYEE IS SITTING BEHIND THE WHEEL NOW, HE IS NOT DRIVING. THE VEHICLE IS BEING OPERATED REMOTELY FROM THE SILICON VALLEY. >> CAN YOU SAY HEY. >> MY NAME IS BEN. I AM YOUR CERTIFIED VEHICLE OPERATOR. I WILL BE DRIVING THE VEHICLE REMOTELY. VICK SINCE LAST SUMMER, PHANTOM VOTTO HAS BEEN TESTING THE STRENGTH OF CELLULAR CARRIERS, BECAUSE IN ORDER TO OPERATE FR AFAR, A ROBUST WIRELESS NETWORK IS CRUCIAL. >> WE ARE NEVER JUST RELYING ON ONE NETWORK TO TELL OPERATE. WE ACTUALLY DO NETWORK MAPPING TO TRACK THE CELLULAR CONNECTING OF ALL CARRIER WE USE ALL THE CARRIERS IN TANDEM FOR BONDING. ELLIPTIC COUPLE OF TIMES LIKE , WHAT, THERE IS NO HAND ON THE STEERING WELL. -- STEERING WHEEL. VICK TRANSPORTATION THAT THE ORGANIZATION CONSUMER WATCHDOG BELIEVES IS ACCELERATING TOO SOON. >> IT IS ABOUT SAFETY. IT IS LIKE PUTTING A TODDLER IN CHARGE OF BRAIN SURGERY. IT’S A NICE. , BUT IT IS LIKE YOUR CELL PHONE USE, IT JAMS UP, IT LOCKS, YOUR TV, YO CABLE, WHATEVER IT IS. THESE ARE MACHINES. VICK THE FIRST RIDE IN A LONGER JOURNEY OF INNOVATION. >> THERE ARE A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AND FOX -- AS FAR AS SAFETY.

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Sacramento is taking another step toward the world of autonomous vehicles. The company Phantom Auto began pilot testing a remotely operated vehicle on city streets Monday. The vehicle is teleoperated in Mountain View, roughly 120 miles away. Phantom Auto partnered with the city in August 2018. In the months since, it’s analyzed and mapped the street-level 4G network conditions for all cellular carriers on two routes selected by the city -- one in downtown from City Hall to the State Capitol, and the other at Sacramento State to the 65th Street RT light rail station. “The testing we have been doing is actually testing the network,” Phantom co-founder Eliot Katz said. “We are never just relying on just one network to teleoperate. We actually do network mapping to track the cellular activity of all the carriers, and then we use all the carriers in tandem for bonding.”Katz said Phantom Auto’s software will allow a human operator to remotely drive from thousands of miles away. He envisions this first becoming an asset for delivery trucks before passenger vehicle use. “The car stopped or slowed down when there was a pedestrian,” Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. “It responded to all of the things a car -- or a driver -- would respond to, but without ever feeling like we were jerking or stopping suddenly.” Phantom Auto is the latest in the city’s drive to attract autonomous vehicle companies away from Silicon Valley. In February, the self-driving shuttle Olli debuted at Sacramento State, which followed Verizon selecting Sacramento as one of the first cities with 5G. The goal is to grow the local economy beyond a government town. However, the innovation on public streets has criticism from the nonprofit organization Consumer Watchdog. “It’s all about the safety. One of the problems is it’s like putting a toddler in charge of brain surgery,” said Mike Mattoch with Consumer Watchdog. “It’s a nice theory but it’s like your cellphone use -- it jams up, it locks. Your TV, your cable -- whatever it is. These are machines.”For now, a person will be behind the wheel as a backup to the teleoperator in Mountain View during pilot driving in Sacramento. “There are a lot of unanswered questions as far as safety and I think we are doing it the appropriate way,” said Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D- Sacramento.The DMV currently has 62 active permit holders for autonomous testing with a safety driver. Only one company has a permit for driverless testing. Waymo is authorized to conduct that testing in a portion of Santa Clara County.