D.C. Wants To Charge Robotaxis $6 Million. Unions Still Say No. A proposed bill would legalize commercial autonomous vehicles in D.C. under one of the country’s most expensive regulatory frameworks, but unions still want the brakes applied. The District of Columbia is considering a bill that would permit the commercial use of autonomous vehicles (A.V.s), such as Waymo, so long as operators pay a multimillion-dollar fee. The Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026, introduced in May by Democratic Councilmember Charles Allen, would create the first legal pathway for companies to operate driverless taxis and delivery vehicles in the district. "People want AVs as an option to get around, and I want DC to be a city that embraces innovation," Allen said in a press release. Legalizing these vehicles would be a positive not only for D.C.'s residents but also for safety. Where autonomous vehicles have been allowed, initial evidence suggests that they are far better than human drivers at avoiding crashes that result in injuries. According to Waymo's analysis of over 220 million driverless miles, A.V.s were involved in 94 percent fewer serious-injury crashes, 93 percent fewer pedestrian crashes with injuries, and 84 percent fewer cyclist crashes with injuries than human drivers covering comparable roads. The proposed bill would, however, introduce a tight and costly regulatory framework that will cause the city to forgo some of the crashes, injuries, and deaths A.V.s could prevent. Some of the restrictions include the requirement for operators to complete 250,000 miles of testing, pay $6 million for a three-year permit, carry $5 million in insurance, accept an initial 200-vehicle cap, file extensive reports, and pay an additional 15-cent tax on every mile driven. The multimillion-dollar fees would partly fund training programs for ride-share drivers deemed vulnerable to automation. However, this extraordinarily expensive