Some Minneapolis City Council members want to stop Waymo driverless cars

Several Minneapolis City Council members want to stop Waymo from bringing its fleet of autonomous electric vehicles to the city.

Last month, Waymo officials began testing the signature white Jaguar I-Pace SUVs and Zeekr RT vehicles, collecting data and mapping the city, and has said it will begin offering rides in the future.

The arrival of the driverless ride-hailing company has alarmed the ride-share community, particularly the East African community, which relies heavily on the industry for jobs.

Waymo sells itself as the “future of transportation” and safer than cars operated by drivers because it “does not get drunk, tired or distracted.”

The company already operates in warmer cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, and recently partnered with Uber to expand to Austin, Texas and Atlanta.

Council Member Jamal Osman — who represents Ward 6, which has a large East African community with many ride-share drivers — said the advent of Waymo is a “huge concern,” and “people are afraid” because thousands of immigrants and people of color rely on ride-sharing work and are already struggling to make it.

“It will put thousands of people out of work,” he said.

Osman said he’s looking to Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz “to lead on this.”

“Either we can have these multimillionaire companies meet the mayor or governor in a back room … or have some kind of really strong action to make sure that this is not happening," Osman said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement saying driverless technology “is clearly coming, but it has to be introduced responsibly and in partnership with local governments who manage the streets. The mayor looks forward to continued discussions with Waymo as they move through this testing phase with human drivers.”

Council President Elliott Payne said the council could pass regulations for autonomous vehicles, and Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai said she would support a ban because the city shouldn’t allow experimentation with driverless vehicles on residents.

“I want to see the strongest possible regulation of this,” she said.

Waymo touts its safety record in the realm of crash reduction. Compared with the average human driver over the same distance in cities with outposts, the driverless cars were involved in 304 fewer injury crashes and 35 fewer pedestrian crashes with injuries. On average, about half of crashes result in minor damage.

Council Member Robin Wonsley said early next year she plans to propose the city take action to put “labor, community and accountability” first.

Wonsley said the sudden news of Waymo testing cars echoes Uber and Lyft’s entry into the city a decade ago, when a “lack of political will” by city leaders led to “years of playing catchup” to regulate the industry and protect workers.