A new proposal that could bring driverless rideshare vehicles to the streets of the nation’s capital is causing an uproar among union workers, drivers and religious leaders who fear the technology could eliminate jobs.
Protesters gathered outside the John Wilson Building as D.C. council members met to discuss legislation that would allow Waymo and other autonomous vehicle operators to offer commercial rides in Washington, D.C. The protesters urged the council to reject the legislation, arguing that an influx of robotaxis would displace rideshare drivers.
“We came out here today strongly because we feel that these robotaxis will put people out of work,” one protester told Fox News Digital. “And people need jobs.”
“I’m against robotaxis because it takes away from the community, it takes away from their jobs, it takes away food from their table,” Frederick from Virginia said.
He continued, “People need jobs to be able to support their family.”
“It’s bulls – – -,” Sabrina from Washington, D.C., said. “Let’s not bring robots taking my neighbor’s jobs. My folks that drive for a living, let’s just not take their jobs.”
Another person at the protest acknowledged that autonomous vehicles could eliminate some driving jobs but argued the city should “take the offensive” by shortening the workweek without cutting pay and expanding employment elsewhere.
“We should take the offensive on job issues,” Michael from Washington, D.C., said. “We should shorten the workweek, without a loss in pay. So we’ll create more jobs in public transportation, in hospitals, in service industries. So we actually maybe will lose some jobs to taxi drivers, but we’ll create better paying jobs.”
The Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026 — introduced by Councilmember Charles Allen in May — would create a program for commercial autonomous vehicles in D.C. that would be run by the District Department of Transportation.
Waymo says its latest safety data, covering more than 270 million miles of autonomous driving, shows its vehicles were involved in 82% fewer injury-causing crashes and 95% fewer crashes involving serious injuries or worse compared with human-driver benchmarks in the same operating areas.
Supporters of robotaxis have also pointed to the potential for lower fares without a human driver, although current comparisons have found Waymo’s prices can vary widely and are not consistently cheaper than traditional rideshare services like Uber and Lyft.
Protesters claimed that while prices may be lower as the driverless vehicles roll out, the rates will eventually spike.
“That’s just something just to…get our antennas up and have us saying, ‘Yeah, ooo, we’re gonna get cheaper rides,’” Sabrina said. “It might be cheap for the trial periods, and then all of a sudden we’ll be paying $50. So no, I don’t believe that. That’s just some crap just to get people engaged with the Waymo.”
“They seem the same price to me,” Helen from Maryland said. “They’re in other cities and it seems like not much of a difference in the pricing.”
The proposed regulatory framework, which could bring robotaxis to the city by 2028, would initially limit operators to 200 vehicles. Companies seeking commercial permits would have to demonstrate at least 180 days and 250,000 miles of autonomous vehicle testing in the District and submit plans aimed at reducing disparities in service availability and wait times across the city’s eight wards.
There was a public hearing on the bill in July, but no vote has been scheduled. The bill would have to be approved by the entire council before self-driving cars start to hit the city’s streets.
“A worker should be at the table,” Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO President Samuel Epps told Fox News Digital at the protest. “We shouldn’t rush this.”
“I don’t think it’s good for the city,” Eddie said. “If my children gonna get in a car, I would prefer for a human to be driving.”
