Some San Diego city councilmembers are asking for authority to regulate driverless taxi services.
They’d like to limit the number of cars, where they can charge and park and how often empty they can roam city streets.
On Monday, councilmembers will consider formally requesting state lawmakers give them the authority to make those decisions.
Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera and Kent Lee, who introduced the resolution, aren’t focused only on the logistics of autonomous taxi operations in San Diego. The councilmembers are also concerned that driverless taxi companies such as Waymo and Amazon-owned Zoox autonomous vehicles will take jobs from residents.
“Thousands of San Diegans earn their living through taxicab, rideshare, transportation network company, and delivery driving,” states a joint memo issued by the councilmembers. “These jobs support economic mobility for local families and are a vital part of the City’s transportation network and economy…San Diego should demand that this technology deliver real benefits to the people who live here, not just profits to the corporations deploying it.”
Elo-Rivera’s desire to regulate driverless car services is not new. In January, he and other members on the Metropolitan Transit System’s board requested the state take authority to implement driverless cars from the California Public Utilities Commission and give it to cities, counties and other local governments.
The request was not granted, and the state’s utilities commission paved the way for Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to begin operating in San Diego.
Waymo began offering taxi service on Sept. 1— our Jennifer Vigil took a ride before the official launch. The blue, boxy autonomous vehicles, referred to as Ojai, now travel on downtown streets, in coastal neighborhoods and Balboa Park. They can’t operate on freeways or go to the airport yet.
Still, Elo-Rivera and Lee argue the city should be in control and is asking the state to give it to them.
In a statement to Times of San Diego, Councilmember Elo-Rivera said the livelihoods of families must come before profits for some of the world’s largest tech companies.
“San Diego’s drivers keep this city moving, fed, and supplied,” wrote Elo-Rivera. “Taxi drivers, rideshare workers, and delivery drivers rely on that work to pay rent, feed their families, and keep a roof overhead. No corporation should be able to quietly replace them with machines to pad its profits, and definitely not without our community having any say.”
Elo-Rivera said the taxi and rideshare drivers are forced to follow city and state laws, while the process introducing Waymo and autonomous vehicles into the mix was accomplished by a simple vote from a state agency.
“This is about fairness, and about something bigger than any one company,” stated the District 9 councilmember. “It’s unacceptable for giant corporations and regulators to decide how automation reshapes our streets and our livelihoods while the people who live with the consequences are left with no voice at all.”
Added Elo-Rivera, “This resolution draws a line saying corporate profit cannot come at the expense of people’s livelihoods or our democracy, and decisions about automation should be made with our community, not imposed on it.”
In addition to calling on state lawmakers, Elo-Rivera and Lee are asking their colleagues to support House Bill 10033, a federal bill from California Rep. Kevin Mullin to force autonomous vehicle companies such as Waymo to require autonomous vehicle operators to work with local public safety personnel during blackouts or power outages to ensure public safety remains a top priority.
Waymo, as well as local advocacy groups, responded to the upcoming resolution by imploring councilmembers and Mayor Todd Gloria to reject the measure.
“Taking sweeping municipal action to condemn, restrict, or stall this service after seven days of operation is an extraordinarily reactive measure,” reads a statement from seven advocacy groups, including the San Diego Working Waterfront, the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation, and the San Diego County Bike Coalition. “Prematurely erecting barriers to autonomous mobility risks forfeiting the profound safety, economic, and accessibility advantages this technology brings to our region.”
Representatives from Waymo also chimed in.
“Waymo is proud to provide San Diego with another transportation option that is safe, reliable, and secure. This ill-conceived attempt to restrict San Diegans’ transportation choices will hurt those whose needs are not met by the status quo. We’re proud that Waymo vehicles are serving San Diegans, and we’ll continue our partnership with local officials to offer a new transportation option that helps make the region’s roads safer and more connected.”
The city council will vote on the resolution from Elo-Rivera and Lee’s offices during its meeting on Monday.
