Boston officials Thursday showed a mix of skepticism and opposition to driverless cars, suggesting that Waymo and other driverless car companies looking to operate in the city may struggle to get the green light.
The comments came across a pair of events including a rally organized by the App Drivers Union, Teamsters Local 25 and other labor groups, and a four-hour city council committee hearing on autonomous vehicles potentially operating in Boston. Multiple voices slammed the presumed threat to rideshare jobs and to drivers who depend on that income.
“Right now, those jobs are under attack by Waymo,” said Steve South, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 25. South was flanked by several dozen fellow opponents waving “WRONG WAY” traffic signs at Thursday’s rally.
At-Large Councilor Erin Murphy was one of several city officials who joined the group outside Boston city hall.
“This will just tear into so many of our rideshare drivers’ lives and their ability to give to their families and raise their families here in the city,” she said, later adding that the Boston City Council would fight for fair treatment.
“The app drivers, the teamsters, 32BJ, UFCW, SEIU, IAM and every single worker fighting to be seen and heard, I see you, I’m with you and I’ll fight with you to make sure the future of Boston transportation is equitable and filled with working people at the center,” said At-Large Councilor Henry Santana, listing the acronyms of several labor groups at the rally.
During the hearing, officials from Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration chimed in with safety concerns, noting the uniqueness of Boston’s layout and traffic challenges.
“Our streets are complex, they’re congested, they are chaotic and even if Waymos can operate safely in Boston, if every Waymo drives like a confused out-of-state tourist, we will very quickly find them unwelcome on the streets of Boston,” said Boston Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge.
“Public safety is our number one priority on the streets and we want to ensure that autonomous vehicles coming into the city align with the city and the administration’s goals when it comes to labor, when it comes to climate, when it comes to traffic, when it comes to accessibility for people with disabilities,” he added.
Boston, Franklin-Hodge said, would also be uniquely impacted by the deployment of driverless cars since the state’s 2024 Rideshare Data Report showed that more than 40% of the 91 million rides in the Commonwealth originated in the City of Boston.
“We need vehicles, whether they’re human or [autonomous vehicles] or computer operated, that can navigate the complexity of our streets, and to date, Waymo has not demonstrated its ability to operate in a place like Boston.”
Along with congestion and safety, other concerns included data sharing with driverless car companies and added greenhouse gas emissions.
Mathew Walsh, Waymo’s regional head of public policy, defended the company’s record pointing to its driverless cars amassing 71 million miles on public roads across the country.
“These are miles that, while are not Boston specific, these are in cities that are very similar to the roads that you have here in Boston,” Walsh said, noting that Waymo operates autonomous vehicles in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta with plans to expand into Washington, D.C. and Miami next year.
“So, we feel very confident in this technology and the performance that we’re seeing to date. And I don’t believe that the conditions here in Boston are so unique that this technology would not be able to operate as effectively as it is every single day in other markets.”
David Margines, Waymo’s director of project management, admitted that Waymo has not yet vetted its technology for operating in snowy conditions.
“We are currently doing our testing and development in snowy environments in preparation for future expansion into cities where snow is more typical,” he responded when asked about a Waymo cars’ ability to make a decision against driving as humans can in particularly unsafe conditions.
Despite strong opposition, a few voices did come forward during public testimony.
“Let’s talk about the communities I think it would impact [favorably],” said Carl Richardson, Massachusetts State House ADA coordinator and an advisory member to the mayor’s commission on disabilities. That list, he said, includes “not only people with physical disabilities like myself, but people with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities, people on the spectrum who don’t like to interact with people and the elderly and Baby Boomer generation,” he said.
Richardson also commented that the concern about jobs goes both ways.
“Do you know how many jobs I’ve turned down because I can’t get there?” he said, noting that driverless cars would greatly help people for whom driving presents a challenge.
Councilor Sharon Durkan, chair of the Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation acknowledged that there is a “conversation happening at the state level,” that could play into driverless cars deploying across the state.
Several bills related to autonomous vehicle regulation were discussed last month at a hearing for the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation including one that could set limits for what types of vehicles, like tow trucks, can operate without drivers.
Durkan also expressed limited support for driverless cars, pointing to late-shift workers in her district who could benefit because they get off after public transportation has ended for the night.
“I think this whole idea that your technology is solving for something we already haven’t solved for, I feel like that’s up to us as the city to figure out,” she said.
