Uber's self-driving cars are back in Calif., but with humans at the wheel

SAN FRANCISCO — Residents of this hilly city might be perplexed to find Uber's self-driving cars trolling its streets, given that the ride-hailing company as yet doesn't have permission from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles for autonomous testing.

But the Uber Ford Fusion Hybrids packed with self-driving sensors that started making the rounds Wednesday are being driven by humans for the purpose of gathering valued road mapping data.

“These cars are being used for Uber’s mapping purposes only," said Uber spokesperson Chelsea Kohler. "They are being driven manually at all times and their self-driving systems are disabled.”

Kohler said "a handful" of Fusions are now on the road.

Last year, Uber announced it would be pouring financial and human resources into developing its own mapping system, a critical component of getting vehicles to safely drive themselves around familiar and unfamiliar streets alike.

Last summer, the Financial Times reported that Uber was prepared to spend $500 million on its mapping efforts. Privately held Uber is currently valued at around $68 billion.

Last week, Uber hired Google search veteran Amit Singhal to head its maps and marketplace departments. As senior vice president of engineering, Singhal will advise both CEO Travis Kalanick as well as Uber's head of autonomous driving Anthony Levandowski, himself a ex-Googler who helped the search company develop its self-driving division, now called Waymo.

Levandowski went on to cofound Otto, a self-driving truck company, which Uber bought last year for $670 million. Otto has successful driven a semi-trailer loaded with beer down a Colorado highway without intervention from a human driver.

For the past five months, Uber has been both testing and picking up passengers in its self-driving Volvo SUVs, developed through its $300 million partnership with the Swedish automaker.

The company had planned to start doing the same thing here in its hometown, even though company officials did not have the proper permits from the DMV to do so.

Levandowski told USA TODAY that his company's technology didn't require such permitting. But the DMV immediately disagreed and ordered Uber to stop its testing. Uber complied and immediately transferred its Volvo to Arizona.

One of the California DMV's requirements for permitting includes making autonomous car companies report all accidents involving its vehicles.

Kohler says that while Uber's Golden State testing has stopped, it remains "100 percent committed to California and will be redoubling our efforts to develop workable statewide rules."

Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter.