Waymo is reaching out for support, as highlighted in an email sent to Washington, DC residents on Thursday. For over a year, the self-driving company has been urging city officials to pass new regulations that would allow its robotaxis to operate freely within the district. Currently, while self-driving cars can undergo testing in the city with a human driver, they can’t function without one. The Alphabet subsidiary, along with its lobbyists, has been asking local lawmakers, including Mayor Muriel Bowser and city council members, to create new rules that would enable fully driverless operations on public roads. Waymo has previously stated its intention to begin offering driverless rides in DC this year.
However, progress has stalled, prompting the company to encourage residents to take action. In the email to those signed up for Waymo’s DC services, it states, “We are nearly ready to provide public Waymo rides to everyone in DC. However, despite significant support, District leadership has not yet provided the necessary approvals for us to launch.”
The email provides a template for contacting DC officials, which includes a message that reads: “Over the past year, I have observed Waymo vehicles operating throughout our local areas, and I am thrilled about the potential advantages this service could provide, including enhanced accessibility and a decline in traffic-related incidents.” Recipients are encouraged to personalize the message, as individualized messages tend to be more effective; only DC residents or those with local addresses can participate.
Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher noted, “We’ll be ready to serve Washingtonians this year, and urge the Mayor, the District Department of Transportation, and the City Council to act.” In just the first 90 minutes after the email was sent, about 1,500 people had contacted district leaders through it.
Typically, self-driving vehicle developers have launched services only in places where regulations clearly define how the technology can operate. Other US cities with Waymo services, such as those in California, Florida, and Texas, already had the appropriate rules before the company entered those markets. However, Waymo is now focusing on larger blue-state cities where autonomous vehicle technology lacks clear regulatory approval. Earlier this month, the company announced it would begin testing in Boston, where lawmakers recently pursued an ordinance to ban self-driving taxis from operating without a human driver. Waymo has stated it requires Massachusetts lawmakers to “legalize fully autonomous vehicles” before it can start service there.
In the long run, developers of self-driving vehicles are hoping for federal legislation that would allow broader testing and operation of their technology nationwide. Recently, a House committee advanced a bill aimed at directing the federal government to establish safety standards for autonomous vehicles while preventing states from enacting laws that could hinder the technology’s adoption, including regulations on the sale or use of self-driving vehicles.
Waymo’s initiative in DC mirrors pressure campaigns from transportation disruptors like Uber and Bird nearly a decade ago. Similar to self-driving tech developers, these companies sought to launch their services where existing rules did not support their operations. Ultimately, Uber and Lyft were largely successful in getting laws passed across many states that permitted their services on public roads, while also preventing individual cities from imposing restrictive regulations.
Currently, Waymo operates in six major US metro areas—Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area—and plans to expand to over 10 this year. Additionally, there are three other companies, including Nuro and Amazon-owned Zoox, that hold permits to test self-driving technology in Washington, DC.
