SEATTLE — Chants of “Waymo? Hell no!” echoed through downtown Seattle on Wednesday night as rideshare drivers, Teamsters, and labor advocates gathered to protest the self-driving taxi company Waymo’s plans to expand into the city.
The demonstrators say they fear the company’s driverless vehicles could threaten their livelihoods and public safety, even as Waymo insists its technology is safer than human drivers.
Dozens of protesters assembled outside a building where they say Waymo corporate lobbyists were hosting a private party. Many accused the company of courting local politicians in hopes of easing restrictions on autonomous vehicles.
“We’re working hard to support our family, but they’re trying to take our job away,” one driver, Papa Diawara, said
Another protester added, “Autonomous vehicles don’t belong on our streets here in Seattle.”
Currently, Washington law does not permit fully driverless taxi services. For the past two months, Waymo has been testing its fleet in Seattle — but with human drivers still required behind the wheel.
One protestor said he fears autonomous Waymo taxis will be essentially void of accountability once they are driverless in Seattle. “Nobody will give them a ticket because they are robotic,” one protester said.
Democratic Washington State Representative Shelley Kloba has sponsored legislation that would hold autonomous vehicle companies to the same legal standards as human drivers in the event of a crash. Supporters of the bill said it’s a necessary safeguard before allowing self-driving taxis to operate independently on public roads.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, began testing its autonomous cars in nearby Bellevue in 2022. In a press release last month, the company said, “We’ve spent years getting to know the area—from communities around the Lake to its notoriously wet weather.” The company described its work in the Seattle region as “vital” to developing technology that can serve riders “rain or shine.”
Despite pushback from labor groups, some residents see benefits in allowing Waymo to operate. One Seattle local, Jade, said, “Seattle would benefit from having more competition in the driving space … I want to pay less,” adding, “They’ve been restricted to San Francisco for way too long.”
Still, for many rideshare drivers, the issue hits close to home. One longtime driver recalled losing their job when traditional taxis were displaced by rideshare apps. “It’s the same scenario,” they said. “So Waymo comes, it will take all the jobs.”
As the debate over automation and employment unfolds, Seattle could soon become the next testing ground for the future of driverless transportation — and the fight to define what that future should look like.
트위터 공유: 시애틀에서 웨이모 무인 택시 반대 시위 확산