Labor unions rally against a D.C. robotaxi bill that already tilts in their favor, arguing that riders would end up bearing the cost through higher fares and more dangerous roads.
Washington, D.C. is weighing a measure to authorize commercial autonomous vehicles within the city, a plan that would impose steep fees on operators to fund programs for drivers displaced from ride-hailing work. On Tuesday, labor unions, faith leaders, and drivers gathered outside the D.C. Council building to oppose the proposal and the Waymo project, with Reason magazine on hand to cover the scene.
Community members voiced a wide range of concerns about the arrival of self-driving cars in Washington, D.C.—from road safety and job displacement to worries about surveillance and air quality linked to Waymo’s tires. Throughout the demonstration, trucks circled the area displaying digital billboards promoting pro-robotaxi messages, including “reducing human error saves human lives.”
The protest carried a simple, recurring refrain directed at the council: “Robotaxis don’t vote; we vote.” The slogan carried an implicit warning: if workers lose their jobs, the council could face political repercussions as well.
Among those who spoke was Helen Raynor, a single mother of four who described how difficult it is to make ends meet while juggling rideshare work with another job. “You’re not benefiting the people; you haven’t explained how you’ll benefit D.C. residents,” she said, emotively. Raynor’s comments reflected a broader sentiment among the public that the advantages of AI-driven services are passing many people by.
Autumn Weintraub, who leads 32BJ’s App Drivers Union, emerged as a key spokesperson for the protest. In her remarks, she accused the council of rushing to “open the floodgates” to a bill that could cause local workers to lose jobs during a period when the district already faces unemployment and affordability challenges.
“You can’t simply advocate for technology without a plan for all the people who exist,” Weintraub told Reason. “How will people cover rent? How will they put food on the table?”
“I don’t hear a plan, and there’s no urgency to push this through.” While her concerns about workers who could be displaced are understandable, the claim that the council is “opening the floodgates” may be an overstatement.
The proposed D.C. measure would prohibit companies from launching ride-hailing services at least until January 2028. It would require operators to spend a minimum of 180 days in the city’s testing program and to log at least 250,000 testing miles within the district before they could obtain an initial permit. Once a permit is granted, fleets would be capped at 200 vehicles until D.C. approves a more comprehensive plan.
To ensure the burden isn’t enough, the bill also imposes a 15-cent tax on every mile driven by commercial autonomous vehicles, along with a $1 million application fee and a $5 million permit fee. After covering administrative costs, the funds would be distributed to public transit, education, vocational training, and workforce development programs for ride-share drivers facing displacement due to autonomous vehicles. If enacted, Washington, D.C. would become the first locality to levy a per-mile tax on A.V.s, effectively subsidizing programs for ride-share drivers at the expense of autonomous-vehicle firms and ultimately consumers.
Autonomous vehicles hold the promise of lowering ride costs. Uber’s current human-driven operation runs at roughly one dollar per mile, according to BNP Paribas Equity Research, which also estimates that robotaxi costs could fall to a range of 16 to 42 cents per mile over time. A 15-cent-per-mile tax would erase much of those potential savings, leading to higher fares for riders.
Beyond cheaper trips, the biggest potential benefit of autonomous vehicles lies in improving road safety. Waymo’s most recent safety analysis shows that across more than 270 million miles driven autonomously, AVs were involved in 82 percent fewer injury-causing crashes and 95 percent fewer incidents resulting in serious injury or death compared with human drivers in the same cities.
In the District alone, traffic fatalities have claimed 720 lives since 2006, with hundreds more seriously injured each year. For every ride-share driver who could lose employment, there is someone whose life has already been uprooted or lost in a crash that autonomous driving could have prevented.
Robotaxis may not vote, but residents who seek lower prices and safer roads certainly do.
Additional reporting by Ryan Curtis.
