Workers protest DC council bill to allow Waymo robotaxis

Right · 2Protesters gathered outside the John Wilson Building in Washington, D.C., as council members met to discuss legislation that would allow Waymo and other autonomous vehicle operators to offer commercial rides in the city. 1 2 Right · 1The demonstrators, described as union workers, drivers and religious leaders, urged the council to reject the bill, arguing that robotaxis would displace rideshare drivers and put people out of work. 1 Right · 1The measure is the Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026, introduced by Councilmember Charles Allen in May, which would create a commercial autonomous vehicle program run by the District Department of Transportation. 1

Right · 2The framework could bring robotaxis to the city by 2028 and would initially cap operators at 200 vehicles. Companies seeking commercial permits would need to show at least 180 days and 250,000 miles of autonomous testing in the District, and submit plans to reduce disparities in service availability and wait times across the city's eight wards. 1 2 Right · 2A public hearing on the bill was held in July, but no vote has been scheduled, and the full council would have to approve it before self-driving cars could operate on city streets. 1 2 Right · 2Protesters gave job-loss and family-support reasons: one named Frederick, from Virginia, said robotaxis take "food from their table", and Sabrina, from Washington, called the plan "bulls - - -". 1 2

Right · 1Samuel Epps, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, said "A worker should be at the table" and "We shouldn't rush this." 1 Right · 1Not all demonstrators opposed the technology on the same terms: Michael, from Washington, acknowledged that some driving jobs could be lost but argued the city should "take the offensive" by shortening the workweek without a pay cut and creating jobs in public transportation, hospitals and service industries. 1 Right · 2Waymo says its safety data, covering more than 270 million autonomous miles, shows 82% fewer injury-causing crashes and 95% fewer crashes involving serious injuries or worse than human-driver benchmarks in the same areas. 1 2

Right · 1Supporters point to possibly lower fares, though the coverage notes Waymo's prices vary widely and are not consistently cheaper than Uber or Lyft. Protesters suspected any low prices would be temporary, with Sabrina warning riders could end up "paying $50", while Helen, from Maryland, said prices in other cities seemed about the same. 1