Introduction: 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

IGNORING THE RED LIGHTS: Waymo issued a recall earlier this month for more than 3,000 vehicles after officials in Texas said the company’s autonomous vehicles illegally passed school buses at least 19 times since the start of the 2025 school year. NHTSA has asked Waymo to respond to questions about the Texas incidents by January 20, USA Today reports.

The school bus issue isn’t a new one for Waymo. As we mentioned in this newsletter last month, Waymo previously issued a “software update” after a Waymo vehicle in Atlanta blew by a stopped school bus with children unloading. And 11Alive news in Atlanta reported that Atlanta Public Schools has identified at least six cases involving Waymo vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses. The incidents happened after Waymo told the school district “software updates” were made after an incident in October in Atlanta caught on video generated headlines.

“This is more than an anomaly, it’s clear that Waymo’s technology isn’t ready to deal with stopped school buses,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “Instead of promising fixes with ‘software updates’ as incidents continue to happen, Waymo should listen to officials in Atlanta and suspend service so children are safe.”

Officials in Austin reported another school bus incident on December 1, where a stopped school bus with red lights flashing for more than a minute was passed by a Waymo, an incident described by an Austin School District spokesperson as “an unequivocal violation of state law.” The spokesperson said that Waymo’s assurances in mid-November that changes were made in response to previous violations “did not resolve the issue or our concerns.” School officials in Austin and Atlanta have asked Waymo to cease operations, at a minimum around times when school buses are transporting children.

“It is unconscionable that Waymos continue to put children in danger,” said TWU Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate. “The company promises that software changes will fix the issue, yet flagrantly illegal driving behaviors persist. TWU bus drivers across the country now have an additional threat to deal with while keeping children safe.”

School buses aren’t the only problem for Waymo. Video captured in Los Angeles shows a Waymo driving right through the middle of a police standoff – with a suspect gawking at the wayward autonomous vehicle as police swarmed in on him with guns drawn.

COMING TO PHILLY: Waymo has also started autonomous testing in Philadelphia (with human drivers on board) while manual drivers are beginning to collect data in Baltimore, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh, TechCrunch reports.

WHAT ELSE IS COOKING

DISPATCHERS REQUIRED: The TWU is urging Congress to ensure that the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry meets existing aircraft maintenance standards, includes human dispatchers for all AAM operations, and ensures that the AAM industry is not favored over existing modes of transportation for federal funding. The TWU Air Division submitted a statement for the record ahead of a House Transportation Committee hearing on the state of the AAM industry earlier this month.

“To maintain safety standards in our airspace, AAM should be required to import standards for maintenance and dispatching from the larger air system, which continues to be the safest mode of transportation ever,” TWU Air Division Director Andre Sutton wrote. Read more here.

AIR TAXIS IN MIAMI: eVTOL aircraft developer Archer Aviation announced earlier this month that it will expand its operations in South Florida, including Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale, Flying Mag reports. The company said its four passenger and pilot eVTOL will take off and land from major airports in South Florida and other locations in the region.

AI EO: The Trump Administration rolled out its latest attempt to stop states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies such as autonomous cars and buses. This latest effort, through an Executive Order (EO) facing significant bipartisan opposition, would unleash the Justice Department to sue states that enact and enforce AI regulations and even threaten to withhold certain federal funds from those states.

This latest White House giveaway on AI comes during a time when 80 percent of the American public distrusts the Big Tech companies and is calling for more not fewer guardrails on data security and the implementation of AI, even if it slows down adoption.

“At a time when autonomous vehicle companies are using people as human crash dummies without serious federal safety regulations in place, it makes no sense to stop the states from making sure dangerous technologies like autonomous buses are not unleashed on our roads and in our transit systems,” Samuelsen said. “This isn’t a partisan issue – both Democratic and Republican officials are opposing this overreach by the largest technology companies in the world.”

AV SHUTTLES COME TO FL AND GA: Autonomous shuttles are coming to Cobb County, Georgia and Boca Raton, Florida, as these driverless passenger transportation experiments continue to expand across the country. The Cobb County service – initially deploying eight vehicles – in Metro Atlanta will utilize a Trump Administration federal transit grant of $6.6 million using autonomous mobility company Beep to “integrate [the shuttle] with the county’s public transit system.”

The Boca Raton MiCa service, a driverless vehicle “loop” connecting people in Mizner Park, launched in November utilizing a partnership between the city, Circuit Transit and autonomous vehicle technology company Guident. The service will deploy 8-seater vehicles with remote human oversight for now. Guident claims its agreement with the city includes plans for expansion of driverless service deeper into Boca Raton.

“Yet again, city officials are agreeing to experiment with their own residents in an unproven, largely unregulated industry whose driverless vehicles have crashed and disrupted many American streets – and even failed to stop for and yield to school buses,” Tate said.

WHAT WE’RE READING:

Trump Tech Advisor David Sacks Under Fire Over Vast AI Investments. NPR.