Self-driving robotaxis aren’t coming to the District anytime soon.
During a markup session of the D.C. Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee, a revised bill that would have allowed autonomous vehicles (AVs) to clear a big hurdle was defeated in a 3-3 vote.
The tie means the bill does not move forward.
Councilmember Charles Allen, who had reworked the bill to include provisions about safety, workers rights and traffic congestion, told News4 he believed the bill was ready to advance.
But a number of other members — including incoming D.C. Mayor Janeese Lewis George — said it wasn’t the right time to give the bill the green light.
Union members, cab drivers and religious leaders also protested the legislation early last month, citing labor and safety concerns.
“When the driver breaks the law there is a name, there is a face. Someone to answer to the grieving families,” Dr. Boise Kimber, president of the National Baptist Convention, said during the October protest. “But when a machine does it, who answers?”
Autonomous vehicle executives plead their case to D.C. officials in July.
“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.
It’s unclear what the defeat of the bill means for self-driving taxi companies like Waymo, but based on a statement shared with News4 after the bill tied, it seems Waymo isn’t ready to give up on D.C. just yet.
The company has been testing in the District for years and was seeking approval to operate.
“More people have died on D.C. roads this year than when the District launched Vision Zero,” Waymo said in a statement after the bill tied. “Washingtonians deserve real solutions to the road safety crisis – not continued inaction after nearly 15 years of studying AVs. While we remain ready to work with the Council, postponing this debate delays the additional investments and jobs that come with scaling our operations. We believe strongly in Waymo’s potential to make D.C. streets safer and thank Councilmember Allen for his leadership.”
