Uber and Lyft drivers protest against Waymo Robotaxis in San Francisco

Gig workers demand equal oversight of Robotaxis, citing safety incidents and 'unfair' regulatory standards.

Drivers for Uber and Lyft staged a protest outside the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) headquarters, urging state regulators to impose greater scrutiny and restrictions on Waymo robotaxis. The demonstration coincided with a CPUC meeting focused on refining and expanding autonomous vehicle regulations, underscoring the escalating tension between human gig workers and the autonomous technology poised to replace them.

The protest, organized by the California Gig Workers Union, targeted the perceived "unfair treatment" of human drivers who are subjected to stringent background checks and licensing, while Waymo's self-driving cars operate with increasing ubiquity across San Francisco.

Safety concerns fuel the protest

Protesters emphasized recent, high-profile incidents involving Waymo vehicles that have generated public distrust and disrupted city services.

• Blocking traffic: Drivers highlighted multiple occasions where Waymo cars have stalled in intersections or blocked streets, most notably during a city-wide power outage days before Christmas, forcing the company to pause services.

• Lack of accountability: Protesters cited an incident where a Waymo was recorded performing an illegal U-turn in a no-U-turn zone. Since the vehicle had no human driver, San Bruno police were unable to issue a ticket, leading drivers to argue that autonomous companies are not "held to the same standards as us drivers."

• Damage and disruption: The protestors also brought up incidents involving the cars, including one in which a robotaxi was reported to have crushed a popular neighborhood cat.

The call for regulatory parity

The core message from the California Gig Workers Union is not necessarily anti-technology, but a demand for regulatory parity and an acknowledgement of the existential threat robotaxis pose to their livelihoods.

As one driver, Joseph Augusto, who works for both Uber and Lyft, stated, "I personally am not against technology; what I am against is unfair treatment. We have these people, these companies, these autonomous vehicle companies who are driving around the city, and they don't seem to be held to the same standards as us drivers.”

The union has called for the immediate removal of all autonomous vehicles from city streets until significant, transparent safety concerns are fully addressed by the CPUC.

The ongoing regulatory review by the CPUC must now attempt to balance the pressure from multi-billion-dollar tech firms pushing innovation with the concerns of gig workers, who are fighting for their jobs and demanding public safety and accountability.