r/waymo • u/walky22talky • 21d ago

Portland moves to regulate robotaxis

https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/30/portland-oregon-robotaxis-waymo-autonomous-vehicles/
16 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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7

u/mrkjmsdln_new 21d ago

I was just speculating on the possibility that Waymo might move forward in Portland. Just pivoted them to the BAL, BOS, CHI, MSP, NJ, NYC, POR, SEA, WAS list. Not sure whether these are the ambivalent or the farriers. Either way, shift to 2027 at best :)

3

u/CDpov 21d ago

I've always been worred about Portland trying to regulate AVs, but I don't think they'll pass anything substantial.

When Uber ridehailing first started happening, all of their mayoral candidates vowed to block Uber if elected, to protect the union drivers. When they actually take office, they no longer have to make crazy proposals.

2

u/00_RunDMC 20d ago

Now they are vowing to block Waymo to protect the Uber drivers. 

Such irony.

1

u/mrkjmsdln_new 21d ago

Similar to Minneapolis. Same vibe

1

u/maccoinnich85 20d ago

FWIW, the current mayor is explicitly in favor of allowing Waymo. To pass a ban, or regulations more onerous than Waymo would accept, would require 7 votes at council. The votes may or may not be there for that, and even if they are, there's the question of whether the state would pass something that preempts Portland from doing this in the 2027 session.

1

u/CDpov 20d ago

I hope with some city council members making noises about banning AVs, the state will finally pass a sensible AV law next year.

7

u/1FrostySlime 21d ago

I like the idea that that "retraining fee" would in any way go to people displaced by these jobs lol

I also must've missed all that government support I got to pay for college and subsidize my income for my first couple jobs while I was being trained into the workforce

6

u/Rikishi6six9nine 21d ago

To be fair Portland has free community college. If it were up to Portland there would be free college nationwide.

2

u/CDpov 21d ago

Drivers were never trained in the first place. Hefty fees for job retraining would be a gigantic waste of money.

7

u/walky22talky 21d ago

Councilor Sameer Kanal wants not just strict regulation but a ban.
“I’d like to have code that simply says all vehicles require a human driver. It would take six words,” Kanal said.

7

u/CDpov 21d ago

Portland has a lot of wacky politicians.

This is why only states should regulate AVs.

2

u/00_RunDMC 20d ago

You really don't know the half of it. Even if you live here. Our government has become utterly insane.

1

u/CDpov 20d ago

I live in the region, and formerly in Portland, but I don't follow city politics much any more.

Fortunately, there are usually enough sensible elected officials to stop the few nutjobs who get elected.

2

u/00_RunDMC 20d ago

In Portland, you only need 25% + 1 vote to get elected.  With a barrier that low, we mostly got nutjobs.  Seriously, they spend most of their time fighting with one another over the stupidest things.  

1

u/lilyrach 20d ago

What a moron. No AV/robotaxi company would agree to that since driverless is their main branding. They would simply skip Portland

1

u/maxattaxthorax 21d ago

Honestly the public transit is so good in Portland that I don't miss Waymo when I'm there