This is the monthly edition of the Transport Workers Union’s Transportation Technology Newsletter. We aim to inform and educate our members, the labor movement, the public and policymakers about developments in transportation technology – and what the TWU is doing to ensure that new technology doesn’t undermine safety or harm the livelihoods of hard-working blue-collar workers. For suggestions and questions, please email ewytkind@gmail.com or adaugherty@twu.org.
ITEM OF THE MONTH
CLEAN IT UP: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a recent letter they have “documented a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders.” NHTSA referenced specific examples, many highlighted by the TWU, of autonomous vehicles driving into active emergency scenes, blocking ambulances and firefighters, and failing to recognize safety alerts such as flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a call to action in the letter urging AV companies to immediately clean up their operations or get off the road.
“To state it bluntly: an AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public,” Morrison wrote. “Every second matters when law enforcement officers, firefighters, or paramedics are answering a call because lives are on the line. That is why human drivers who impede these operations are subject to fines and even jail time. So, when an AV disrupts first responders or impedes an emergency vehicle, it ceases to be a minor software anomaly. The technology driving alongside them must support their efforts and get out of the way, not disrupt their life saving mission or compound the dangers they face.”
Days after NHTSA issued their letter, Zoox recalled its fleet of 105 robotaxis after they determined they could not detect heavy smoke, potentially impeding emergency personnel, Reuters reports. The company admitted on June 20 an unoccupied Zoox vehicle encountered heavy smoke at an active emergency scene and entered the scene instead of leaving.
“We have raised the alarm for years on the constant dangers of robotaxis performing actions that would cause human drivers to face heavy fines or even potential jail time,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “NHTSA’s letter is a strong warning to Big Tech that public roads are not laboratories and if their technology can’t get out of the way for first responders, it doesn’t belong on our streets.”
Even notable supporters of AVs like San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie are changing their tune. Lurie asked regulators in California to bolster rules after Waymo vehicles caused widespread gridlock on July 4, TechCrunch reports. The vehicles ran out of power, blocked streets, and trapped transit vehicles. Lurie proposed that autonomous vehicle companies must be required to immediately remove or relocate robotaxis from active travel lanes, share real-time operations data with local agencies, know the locations of immobile robotaxis with a plan to recover them, and demonstrate through testing they can handle large influxes of people and traffic.
“What happened in San Francisco earlier this month is unacceptable,” TWU Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate said. “Waymos essentially turned San Francisco’s Fourth of July celebration into a nightmare for the traveling public. When even pro-robotaxi politicians are sounding the alarm, it should be a wakeup call for everyone that their deployment nationwide would be a disaster.”
BABY YOU’RE A FIREWORK: And in the midst of the July 4th gridlock, a Waymo car with passengers inside was filmed traveling over a lit firework. Rose Peterson, who was in the Waymo, told NBC News the car “didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate, it just literally went on like nothing happened.” A second unoccupied Waymo vehicle in San Francisco caught fire after driving over a firework – and the company responded with the corporate-speak of saying they are “evaluating and learning” from the incidents.
WHAT ELSE IS COOKING
VERTIPORTS COMING? They take off and land like a helicopter and fly like a plane and now New York City plans to build the vertiport infrastructure needed to launch electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVOTL) flying taxis by the end of the year, Smart Cities Dive reports. The vertiports will be modified versions of existing heliports in the city.
Two emerging air taxi operators, Joby and Archer, are gearing up for 2026-2027 launches in states approved by the Federal Aviation Administration including New York and New Jersey. Joby showed off its new air taxi aircraft in April in flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and heliports at West 30th Street and East 34th Street, claiming “7 minute” trips from the city to the airport. Archer announced it will partner with BETA Technologies and Macquarie Capital to launch ACES, America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways, to “electrify up to 250 air taxi sites” at the nation’s largest airports and metro areas over the next decade.
TOYOTA, JOBY JOIN UP: Toyota is throwing its weight behind Joby’s planned entry into the air taxi market with a joint venture to build Joby’s S4 Series electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVOTL) aircraft. Toyota, which Wall Street values at $261 billion, will hold a 51 percent interest in the new venture in what is now its ninth year as a Joby investor. Major airline and aerospace companies are betting big on the eVOTL market. Joby has secured equity investments from Delta Air Lines; United is an Archer and Eve investor; Vertical Aerospace enjoys equity backing from American, Virgin Atlantic and Japan Airlines, and Boeing has invested heavily in Wisk Aero.
DC UNIONS OPPOSE WAYMO: A group of labor unions testified against a Washington, DC Council bill that would allow robotaxis to operate in the city. Waymo is currently testing vehicles on DC roads with human drivers. Unions representing rideshare workers noted that take-home pay for drivers in cities where robotaxis currently operate has dropped, along with trips per hour.
The DC bill is also a proxy war between Waymo and Uber. Uber opposes the bill, arguing it hands Waymo a near-monopoly over driverless operations in DC. It isn’t clear yet if the bill will move forward before Mayor Muriel Bowser departs office. DC Councilmember Janesse Lewis George, who almost assuredly will be the next mayor, said during her campaign that DC is “not ready” for Waymo.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Waymo’s Newest Robotaxi is Chinese-made, Built to Make Money, and Now Accepting Riders. TechCrunch.
Volkswagen Has Entered the Robotaxi Race. Business Insider.
Robotaxis are Turning Passengers Into Horrible and Entitled Menaces to Society. Futurism.
Remote Supervisors Can Oversee Three Autonomous Aircraft at a Time, Wisk Study Concludes. Aerospace America.
Waymo car caught driving in wrong lane amid World Cup traffic in LA. ABC 7.