Boston’s stereotypical rudeness isn’t limited to human drivers. During a city council hearing on the matter, protesters in City Hall Plaza strongly objected to Waymo’s autonomous taxis joining the Boston traffic fray. City officials ended up siding with the protesters, agreeing that robotaxis are bad for Beantown for several reasons.
According to WGBH, several labor groups, including the Teamsters and the recently established App Drivers Union, protested against what they see as the loss of their jobs if Waymo comes to Boston. The protest was similar to Los Angeles demonstrations when service began in 2023. Some city counselors joined the group outside City Hall, heard what they had to say, and agreed with their objections. “I see you, I’m with you, and I’ll fight with you to make sure the future of Boston transportation is equitable and filled with working people at the center,” said At-Large Councilor Henry Santana.
Additionally, the Boston Globe says city officials are concerned about Waymo’s autonomous vehicles being able to safely navigate the city’s narrow, twisting streets, which were established long before cars existed. Waymo began deploying human-driven cars in Boston this past May to begin mapping the city with its service in mind, reports MassLive. However, Boston is quite different from cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin, where Waymo’s robotaxis currently operate. All of these cities are much newer than Boston and have road networks that, despite LA traffic, are much easier to navigate.
Regional differences
Another difference is that Waymo’s current cities all have warmer climates. Boston sees a great deal of snow in the winter. Even Waymo admits it’s not ready for such conditions yet. “We have not yet validated the Waymo driver for fully driverless operations in things like snow and standing snow on the ground,” Waymo’s director of product management, David Margines, told the Boston Globe. There’s also the issue of snow sticking to and obscuring sensors, a problem human drivers don’t have. Waymo does have wipers for this situation, but any seasoned Boston driver knows how ineffective they can be during a wicked bad nor’easter.
Finally, there’s how Waymo’s vehicles will drive compared to the aggressive Boston drivers surrounding them. “Imagine a Waymo stuck at a light in a narrow North End street with a fire truck behind it trying to get through,” Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Boston’s chief of streets, told MassLive. “How does that vehicle respond in that situation? Does it do the right thing to make sure that it’s protecting public safety?” Entering the Concord Rotary and just circling it 37 times won’t fly.
On the other hand, previous performance shows they might be better equipped to handle Boston drivers than people suspect. I personally had one run a red light in front of me in Phoenix. After driving into oncoming traffic, earning parking tickets, and incessantly blaring their horns, Waymo robotaxis could blend into Boston traffic so well that we may not even notice them.
