Waymo has ramped up its lobbying for its self-driving car technology, ahead of the New York legislative session that will determine the future of autonomous vehicles in the Empire State amid labor concerns about potential job losses and their safety.
The company, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., will begin testing up to five specially equipped Jaguars in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) hometown of Buffalo early next year. Success could pave the way for driverless vehicles to operate commercially without someone behind the wheel since such cars first hit the streets of New York in 2017.
“As we scale up our fully autonomous ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Metro Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, and beyond, we’re excited to perform this testing in parallel,” the company said in a Nov. 6 blog post.
Waymo will debut its service before state authorization to test the technology expires on April 1, and is pushing for an expansion to showcase the technology.
Organized labor has taken notice following years of controversy over accidents and a threat to membership. “There’s obviously a big concern out there,” said Stanley Koniszewski III of Teamsters Local 294, whose membership includes drivers for UPS, which Waymo has previously partnered with in Arizona.
Lobbying firm CMW Strategies LLC has lobbied Hochul’s administration, as well as New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, on behalf of Waymo since September at a cost of $9,000 per month, state records show.
The governor has not publicly committed to loosening rules on driverless cars. “Governor Hochul is committed to safely testing cutting-edge technologies here in New York, including autonomous vehicles. Under the existing program, companies wishing to test these vehicles on public roadways must cooperate with state and local law enforcement and the Department of Motor Vehicles to be approved,” said Hochul spokesman John Lindsay in a statement.
Safety Concerns
The New York debate comes after testing of the technology in other states—most notably in California, where driverless cars have operated in some of the densest urban areas in the country without a human in the driver’s seat. In New York, operators must have a human behind the wheel at all times while they test the technology.
Pending legislation (SB 8468) would allow autonomous vehicles to operate in New York without human drivers. Safety concerns are “the biggest thing right now” when it comes to creating a regulatory framework to get autonomous vehicles on the road, said the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D) of Rochester.
Waymo is moving forward with its expansion plans weeks after its competitor Cruise—which has received backing from General Motors Co.—lost its operating license in California after several crashes. In one notable incident, a Cruise car struck and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco and company officials were not forthcoming on details of the accident. Neither Cruise nor General Motors reported lobbying on autonomous vehicles in New York this year.
Labor unions have initially seized on the public safety issue more than the potential job loss. “The technology is not proven, it’s not consistent and it doesn’t work,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien during a September rally in support of California legislation to require drivers inside autonomous semi-trailer trucks. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed the measure while arguing existing regulations were sufficient to regulate the industry.
New York state Sen. Tim Kennedy (D), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, likewise said he remains unpersuaded his state is ready for cars without a human on hand to take control.
“We see a place for AV in the future, but it has to be right and has to be safe,” said Kennedy, whose Buffalo district includes areas Waymo is now eyeing.
Upstate Test
Buffalo’s notoriously harsh weather offers the company a chance to improve the performance of driverless cars in environments with less predictable weather than the milder climates of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The vehicles depend on sensors and machine learning to identify road barriers, pedestrians, stop lights, and other objects that can be obstructed by snow.
The company will operate the vehicles in city streets around downtown Buffalo as well as highways like Interstate 90, according to spokesperson Sandy Carp.
In addition, Upstate New York also offers companies like Waymo lower political and regulatory barriers compared to New York City, which could spark protests similar to when for-hire vehicle companies like Uber and Lyft began arriving there roughly a decade ago against opposition from taxi drivers, said Cooney.
“Remember it was New York City first and then Upstate afterward?” said Cooney. “I think it will be the opposite.”
Unions Mobilizing
The AFL-CIO was the only entity besides Waymo to report lobbying on autonomous vehicles to the Commission on Ethics in Lobbying and Government. The AFL-CIO’s entry is significant since New York has the highest percentage of union membership of any state besides Hawaii.
Other labor groups could join the fight when state lawmakers return to Albany in January for the 2024 legislative session, especially as the April 1 deadline for the autonomous vehicle program coincides with that for passage of the state budget, sparking trade-offs and deals.
“Money talks,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance representing more than 28,000 thousand Yellow Cab and Uber drivers in the city. “We could see these companies being able to lobby for pilot programs and get their foot through the door no matter who gets hurt.”
Any job losses from autonomous vehicles will likely happen in long-haul trucking first rather than for-hire vehicles considering the technological and political difficulties, said Assemblyman Alex Bores (D), a longtime tech worker who represents the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
“Highway driving in many ways is easier than city,” said Bores, which means that “we’re going to see the job losses more traveling between cities first.”
Waymo is cognizant that the fear of job loss presents obstacles in its legislative efforts bid.
A company spokesperson, Katherine Barna, acknowledged concerns over job loss but said “new job opportunities” could emerge to workers who might get displaced in the future in areas such as manufacturing, management, and maintenance.