Union members, cab drivers and religious leaders came together Tuesday to demand the D.C. Council reject legislation that would allow autonomous vehicles to operate in the city.
“Pump the brakes! Pump the brakes!” demonstrators chanted on the steps of the Wilson Building. They said robotaxis could put drivers out of work and fundamentally change the way people get around D.C.
“Technology should serve people, not replace people,” said Dr. Boise Kimber, president of the National Baptist Convention.
“It’s bad enough when technology tells a person as it relates to a job that you are not necessary. It is even far more sinister when technology says to humans, you don’t need each other,” said Pastor A.C. Durant of the Tenth Street Baptist Church in D.C.
Protesters said safety is also a concern as there have been crashes involving self-driving vehicles throughout the country. They say people should not be a “proving ground” for the technology.
“When the driver breaks the law there is a name, there is a face. Someone to answer to the grieving families. But when a machine does it, who answers?” Kimber said.
As they rallied, large electronic billboard trucks drove by displaying messages in support of robotaxis.
Companies like Waymo and Tesla have been testing their autonomous vehicles on D.C. streets for years with drivers behind the wheel.
In July, autonomous vehicles executives plead their case to D.C. officials for a green light to start picking up passengers.
“You can talk to people around this city. They’ve seen our vehicles for two years. They want to get in. Every time I’m driving around I have people that come up to the car, ‘When am I going to be able to use Waymo?'” said Matthew Walsh, who leads state and local public policy for Waymo in the eastern U.S.
The D.C. Council has not yet voted on the bill that would allow robotaxis to operate. D.C.’s Department of Transportation would also have to give approval to allow the companies to operate.
Companies like Waymo said that they’ll be ready if they do get approval.
