<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Tell us a completely fair breakdown of how the meeting went. I was on it for the whole thing, I\u2019m glad they cited Kerryne that, but they did not yet. Also, there was a representative from Easter Seals, and I also said some stuff too. But yes, it really was biased towards against Waymo, and they should\u2019ve given the representatives from the company more time to take questions and answer Them then just having comments be said to people that were against it to begin with. I am also glad that I got to testify when we had the hearing at the state house.<div>Stephen</div><div>PS I wonder where this breakdown came from. It is great.<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Jul 27, 2025, at 2:41\u202fPM, Sandra Burgess via Massachusetts-NFB <massachusetts-nfb@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">\ufeff
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The post below was sent to guide dog users of Massachusetts by Carl Richardson. While Carl stated this is media coverage, he did not state where this report originated.
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<b>Driverless cars run into resistance at Boston City Council<o:p></o:p></b></p>
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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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cRight now, those jobs are under attack by Waymo,\u201d said Steve South, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 25. South was flanked by several dozen fellow opponents waving \u201cWRONG WAY\u201d traffic signs at Thursday\u2019s rally.<o:p></o:p></p>
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At-Large Councilor Erin Murphy was one of several city officials who joined the group outside Boston city hall.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cThis will just tear into so many of our rideshare drivers\u2019 lives and their ability to give to their families and raise their families here in the city,\u201d she said, later adding that the Boston City Council would fight for fair treatment.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cThe app drivers, the teamsters, 32BJ, UFCW, SEIU, IAM and every single worker fighting to be seen and heard, I see you, I\u2019m with you and I\u2019ll fight with you to make sure the future of Boston transportation is equitable and filled with working people at the
center,\u201d said At-Large Councilor Henry Santana, listing the acronyms of several labor groups at the rally.<o:p></o:p></p>
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During the hearing, officials from Mayor Michelle Wu\u2019s administration chimed in with safety concerns, noting the uniqueness of Boston\u2019s layout and traffic challenges.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cOur streets are complex, they\u2019re 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,\u201d said Boston Chief
of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cPublic 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\u2019s 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,\u201d he added.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Boston, Franklin-Hodge said, would also be uniquely impacted by the deployment of driverless cars since the state\u2019s 2024 Rideshare Data Report showed that more than 40% of the 91 million rides in the Commonwealth originated in the City of Boston.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cWe need vehicles, whether they\u2019re 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.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p>
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Along with congestion and safety, other concerns included data sharing with driverless car companies and added greenhouse gas emissions.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Mathew Walsh, Waymo\u2019s regional head of public policy, defended the company\u2019s record pointing to its driverless cars amassing 71 million miles on public roads across the country.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<b>\u201c</b>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,\u201d 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cSo, we feel very confident in this technology and the performance that we\u2019re seeing to date. And I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p>
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David Margines, Waymo\u2019s director of project management, admitted that Waymo has not yet vetted its technology for operating in snowy conditions.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cWe are currently doing our testing and development in snowy environments in preparation for future expansion into cities where snow is more typical,\u201d he responded when asked about a Waymo cars\u2019 ability to make a decision against driving as humans can in particularly
unsafe conditions.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Despite strong opposition, a few voices did come forward during public testimony.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cLet\u2019s talk about the communities I think it would impact [favorably],\u201d said Carl Richardson, Massachusetts State House ADA coordinator and an advisory member to the mayor\u2019s commission on disabilities. That list, he said, includes \u201cnot only people with physical
disabilities like myself, but people with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities, people on the spectrum who don\u2019t like to interact with people and the elderly and Baby Boomer generation,\u201d he said.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Richardson also commented that the concern about jobs goes both ways.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cDo you know how many jobs I\u2019ve turned down because I can\u2019t get there?\u201d he said, noting that driverless cars would greatly help people for whom driving presents a challenge.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Councilor Sharon Durkan, chair of the Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation acknowledged that there is a \u201cconversation happening at the state level,\u201d that could play into driverless cars deploying across the state.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Several bills related to autonomous vehicle regulation were discussed last month at a hearing for the Legislature\u2019s Joint Committee on Transportation including one that could set limits for what types of vehicles, like tow trucks, can operate without drivers.<o:p></o:p></p>
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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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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\u201cI think this whole idea that your technology is solving for something we already haven\u2019t solved for, I feel like that\u2019s up to us as the city to figure out,\u201d she said.<o:p></o:p></p>
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