Self-driving vehicles

D.C. Wants To Protect Ride-Share Jobs. Riders Could Pay the Price.

Unions rallied against a D.C. robotaxi bill that already favors them. Riders would pay for their win in higher fares and more dangerous roads.

Josh Pauzé | 10.8.2026 4:35 PM

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(Josh Pauze)

The District of Columbia is considering a bill to legalize commercial autonomous vehicles (A.V.s) in the city that would subject companies to hefty fees to fund programs for displaced ride-share drivers. Labor unions, religious leaders, and drivers gathered outside of the D.C. Council building on Tuesday to protest the bill and Waymo. Reason was on the ground to see it live.

Community members voiced a wide range of concerns about the prospect of self-driving cars coming to Washington, D.C. Worries included everything from road safety and job loss to surveillance and air quality issues from Waymo's tires. Throughout the protest, trucks circled with digital billboards sporting pro-robotaxi messages, including "reducing human error saves human lives."

The protest had one simple, repeated message for the council: "Robotaxis don't vote; we vote." It had a........

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