Washington DC Driverless Taxi Bill One Vote Short in Committee: Rewrite Sets 800-Vehicle District Cap as Waymo Marks About Two Years of Testing
WASHINGTON — A bill to let Waymo and other companies carry paying passengers in driverless cars in the District of Columbia is one vote short in the DC Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment. The bill author and committee chair, Charles Allen, released a rewritten version on Tuesday, November 10, but three of the five committee members said they would vote no this week.
The three are Zachary Parker, Elissa Silverman and Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George. Christina Henderson said she would vote yes, leaving Allen one vote short of moving the bill out of committee. Opponents cited rideshare and taxi job displacement and safety concerns, and urged delay until the next session.
The rewrite caps autonomous vehicles district-wide at 800 for all companies, and would allow rideshare drivers and autonomous vehicle maintenance workers to unionize. It also includes wheelchair-accessible ride requirements, data-sharing rules and a lengthy driverless testing phase. District law today allows testing only with a trained person in the vehicle, the basis on which Waymo has tested in DC for about two years while building three charging and service facilities.
The bill dies if not passed before the session ends on January 2, 2027. Estimates for the first paid driverless rides range from the fall of 2027 to early 2028. This item reports the bill text and public statements only.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一辆 Waymo 无人驾驶汽车的正面，车顶装有传感器。Grendelkhan 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Waymo self-driving car front view.gk. By Grendelkhan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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