[AutonomousVehicles] Will Boston Wage War on Waymo? (article)

[Cornelius Butler]

Article LInk:
https://www.thedailyupside.com/industries/autos/boston-wages-war-on-waymo/

Article Text:

Will Boston Wage War on Waymo?
Boston city council members are considering an ordinance that would require
a “human safety operator” to be present in autonomous vehicles.

By
Mallika Mitra
Guest Contributor to The Daily Upside

Boston city council members are considering an ordinance that would require
a “human safety operator” to be present in autonomous vehicles.


Is Waymo’s robotaxi business about to become a hill of beans in Beantown?

Boston city council members are considering an ordinance that would require
a “human safety operator” to be present in autonomous vehicles (AVs)
operated by Waymo and other ride-share services. The local law would make
Boston “the first major city in the world to ban fully autonomous vehicles
based entirely on vibes,” Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher posted on X
ahead of a city council meeting last week, where members postponed a vote
on the ordinance.

The proposal would also require a study of the impact AVs would have on
rideshare drivers’ jobs and the local economy.

Banning AVs
Riders in Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix, San Francisco and Atlanta can now
hop into fully autonomous rides from Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet. The
company started test-driving in Boston in May, but not without pushback.
Labor unions have been protesting the rollout and rallied outside City Hall
in support of the proposed ordinance. “Driverless cars and trucks pose a
serious threat to public safety, our communities, and the livelihoods of
the countless dedicated men and women across the commonwealth who work as
professional drivers,” Tom Mari, President of Teamsters Local 25, said in a
statement.

Analysts at research firm Morningstar said the ordinance may also impact
Tesla, and that it could simply kick the can down the road:

If Boston requires a human operator in its vehicles, Tesla may opt not to
offer its robotaxi service there, says senior equity analyst Seth
Goldstein. “Given the harsher winter weather, Boston may already be lower
in the rollout list, but the proposed regulation could prohibit Tesla’s
robotaxi from operating in the city.”
Any city that puts up barriers to entry for AVs will simply be pushed along
the rollout and testing timelines, with the end-game being that the
regulation barring the entry will be lowered over time as adjacent cities
allow for the AVs, equity analyst Malik Ahmed Khan adds. “Imagine a
Bostonian not having access to Waymo in Boston but really enjoying the
experience in NYC and then being more pro-AV in Boston.”
Waymo Weighs In: Waymo’s regional head of state and local policy for the US
East, Matthew Walsh, said in a statement shared with The Daily Upside that
the proposed ordinance is “an unprecedented ban on a technology that is
bringing additional safety, accessibility, economic activity and
sustainable transportation to the cities where we operate.”
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