The St. Paul City Council recently voted 7-0 to seek a wide-ranging study of how autonomous vehicles like Waymo might impact the city’s labor market, public transit systems and data privacy concerns, among other questions around the emerging industry.
The resolution calls for the city to “establish these standards proactively, before fully automated vehicle companies begin commercial operation in the city.”
Waymo’s website lists another 17 markets on the horizon, including Minneapolis, where the city council recently voted 7-6 to require “human safety monitors” in each driverless car.
A recent call to Waymo for comment on St. Paul’s resolution was not returned.
Blocking companies like Waymo from entering the St. Paul market “would repeat the error of protecting buggy-whip work after the automobile arrived or retaining elevator operators after elevators could operate automatically,” said Birch Hansen, a St. Paul resident and networking consulting engineer, in a letter to the city council.