“New Yorkers be warned, Waymo will turn pedestrians into cannon fodder and will block streets for emergency responders. Waymo isn’t ready for NYC’s streets and the end goal is to replace rideshare drivers, taxi drivers, and transit workers with robots,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen.
NYC’s DOT announced Friday it granted Waymo its first-ever permit to begin testing autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. A human driver is currently required to be behind the wheel at all times. Waymo will initially begin testing with eight autonomous vehicles through the end of September and must apply for an extension at the end of the testing period.
Waymo vehicles have caused havoc on streets across the country. In San Francisco, Waymos have impeded emergency responders, in Arizona Waymos have driven into oncoming traffic, and the company admitted at a recent public hearing in Boston that Waymos are not prepared to drive autonomously in snowy conditions.
“The TWU will fight attempts to unleash driverless vehicles on the busiest streets in the country. Transit workers are essential eyes and ears on our roads and their work goes beyond simply driving a bus or subway from point A to point B,” Samuelsen said. “Make no mistake – we will never accept buses without Bus Operators. Never. We will shut this city down.”
TWU International Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate outlined the TWU’s opposition to autonomous vehicles on NYC streets in an op-ed published last year in the New York Daily News.
“New York is America’s most densely populated big city. There’s a dizzying amount of activity from an unmatched number of pedestrians, bicyclists, pedicabs, and motorists,” Tate wrote. “Pedestrians cross streets in Manhattan like nowhere else in the country. They do whatever they want, whenever they want. These vehicles are not prepared to deal with that kind of pedestrian interaction.”