Minneapolis residents weigh in on driverless taxi regulations

At a public hearing this week, several Minneapolis rideshare drivers told the City Council they’re worried about losing their jobs to driverless taxis. But some residents said they want to see the additional transportation option on the roads.

The council is considering an ordinance that would require autonomous vehicle companies to pay a “human monitor” — a licensed driver — to sit in the driver’s seat of their vehicles. Companies would also need to get a license to operate from the city. That would apply to Waymo, a driverless taxi company currently testing out the roads in Minneapolis.

Council member Robin Wonsley is one of the proposal’s authors. She told members of the council and the public that the city needs to establish some ground rules before those companies roll out.

“We do not have any regulations in place,” Wonsley said. “If these autonomous vehicles or big tech companies decide to come and operate and set up shop here in Minneapolis, our residents nor workers have any protections from any likely adverse effects.”

Those adverse effects, she said, include the threat of job loss for the city’s thousands of rideshare drivers.

Several of those drivers and other supporters spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing.

Uber and Lyft driver Abdurshad Mohammed said he hopes the ordinance would protect drivers' jobs.

“The money I earn helps pay for my family needs. It goes to local businesses, groceries, gas, rent and other expenses,” Mohammed said. “So I'm worried when I hear about companies like Waymo and Tesla coming into Minneapolis and replacing drivers with autonomous vehicles.”

A spokesperson for Waymo said in a previous statement that the ordinance goes too far in its proposed regulations and would limit the company’s ability to operate in the city.

At Tuesday’s meeting, some residents urged the council to consider potential benefits of driverless taxi services.

Justin Salisbury, a blind Minneapolis resident, told the council he sometimes has drivers suddenly cancel his rides. He wonders if it’s because of his disability, and said he’s heard from other blind residents — especially those who use service animals — that they struggle to get rides.

“Disabled people want to be a part of driving Minnesota in the sense of being part of the workforce, and a lot of times lack of access to enough transportation is part of why we don't get the jobs that we need,” Salisbury said. “If I had the choice to choose an autonomous vehicle, I might choose that.”

Some speakers pointed to data indicating that driverless cars are safer than those driven by humans. Waymo says its cars crash less and result in fewer injuries, based on its data from other cities. And some residents pointed out that they’ve been in Ubers and Lyfts with drivers who break road rules.

But several speakers said they have safety concerns about Waymo vehicles, too. Phoenix Stremski said she owns a Tesla with autonomous driving capabilities, and uses the autonomous features most of the time. But she still takes over in tricky conditions.

“There have been occasions where it has, in road construction season, attempted to drive me into a 15-foot-deep ditch or a road that wasn't even there,” Stremski said. “Is it ready for prime time? Maybe eventually. Maybe we'll get there.”

Council member Wonsley agreed that she wants more information on safety before the cars can operate here, pointing to incidents in other cities of Waymo vehicles causing traffic jams, getting in the way of first responders and passing stopped school buses.

If the ordinance passes, it will take effect in October 2027. Wonsley said that gives the council time to adjust the rules as they learn more about safety and potential job losses. The council is awaiting a report from city staff on some of those questions, which they expect to get next month.

Until the passage of that ordinance, Waymo continues to exist in a legal gray area. The state doesn’t have any specific rules about autonomous vehicles, and most of its driving laws assume there’s a driver in a car who can take responsibility in case of a crash or a stop by law enforcement.

Some council members said they believe the current lack of rules make it legally possible for companies to put autonomous vehicles on the roads.

But other policymakers disagree. DFL State Sen. Scott Dibble, who is working to draft statewide legislation on the issue, said he believes the lack of specific autonomous vehicles rules means those vehicles can’t operate.

“Built into our laws on driving is a requirement that anyone who's driving a car be a person who has a driver's license,” Dibble said. “That's of course impossible with a driverless vehicle.”

Authors of the Minneapolis ordinance say those legal questions are another reason to pass clear regulations.

The ordinance is scheduled for another public hearing on Sept. 29, with a vote possible in early October.

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