MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minneapolis Moves to Regulate Driverless Vehicles Before Waymo Arrives City leaders, labor advocates, disability groups and technology companies find themselves at the center of a growing debate over the future of transportation in Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS (June 12, 2026) Long before the first fully driverless ride picks up a passenger in Minneapolis, city leaders are already preparing for a battle over who will control the future of transportation. On Wednesday, several Minneapolis City Council members joined labor organizations, rideshare drivers, and community advocates to announce plans for an ordinance that would establish business licensing requirements for companies seeking to operate commercial autonomous vehicle fleets within city limits. The proposal comes as Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, continues preparations for a future expansion into Minneapolis, one of 21 cities currently identified by the company as "up next" for potential deployment. Supporters of the ordinance say the measure is intended to ensure that local safeguards are in place before driverless commercial services begin operating on Minneapolis streets. Critics, meanwhile, warn that a patchwork of local regulations could complicate the development of a technology that many believe will eventually become a major part of American transportation. What is unfolding in Minneapolis is not simply a debate about self-driving cars. It is a debate about labor, local control, public safety, disability access, economic disruption, and who gets to write the rules governing one of the most significant technological shifts in transportation since the emergence of rideshare services more than a decade ago. A Technology Arriving Faster Than Regulation The push for local regulation comes as autonomous vehicle technology advances rapidly across the country. Waymo currently operates commercial driverless ride-hailing services in cities including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The company reports that