Driverless Robotaxis Roll Out in Los Angeles

In Hollywood, if you spot a car cruising without a driver, don’t panic. About 50 driverless robotaxis hit the streets of Los Angeles this Thursday. The hope is that this new mode of transportation won’t cause as many hiccups as it did in other parts of California.

Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is behind this latest addition to the ride-sharing scene. The company has already been testing robotaxis in San Francisco since last year and also has a presence in Phoenix.

The rides in L.A. will at first be free and available to the 50,000 individuals who signed up on the company’s waitlist. Then Waymo will switch over to a paid service in the coming weeks.

A promotional video showcasing Waymo employees enjoying their first driverless rides in L.A. aims to drum up excitement.

However, not everyone is thrilled about the introduction of these robotaxis. In the lead-up to their L.A. debut, there have been legal battles and protests outside Google’s local office. Members of the Teamsters union are worried that these vehicles will snatch away jobs and endanger workers who operate emergency vehicles and garbage trucks.

Yvonne Wheeler, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, is among the critics. She’s adamant that the technology isn’t ready for city roads, citing incidents in San Francisco where autonomous vehicles caused chaos, from blocking fire trucks to colliding with buses and even harming animals. “Autonomous vehicles like the ones that Waymo wants to unleash in our communities, have been wreaking havoc wherever they go,” she said.

Despite assurances from companies like Cruise and Waymo about the safety of their vehicles compared to human drivers, concerns linger. Cruise, owned by GM, faced backlash after one of its driverless cars struck a pedestrian in downtown San Francisco.

While the state of California has given the green light for robotaxis to operate in L.A., local lawmakers like Los Angeles City Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez are apprehensive. Soto-Martinez believes that such decisions affecting public safety should be made by elected officials, not unelected bodies.

As discussions about the future of driverless vehicles heat up, Soto-Martinez supports a state bill that would transfer permitting power to local authorities. Until then, the streets of Los Angeles will witness the debut of these futuristic robotaxis, promising convenience but sparking controversy.