Waymo announces plans to expand its self-driving fleet to Seattle but faces skepticism from local drivers.
SEATTLE — The autonomous rideshare company Waymo announced it’s expanding its fleet of self-driving vehicles to Seattle.
Waymo still needs to test its vehicles on Seattle’s streets. There is no timetable for when service will launch.
The company will begin with human drivers, gradually shifting to self-driving vehicles.
KING 5 spoke with a taxi driver on Wednesday who said it’s a bad idea.
“What’s going to happen to the drivers?” he asked.
There are about 20,000 rideshare and taxi drivers in Seattle, and not enough customers to go around, according to the Drivers Union.
It’s unclear how Waymo plans to compete. Waymo’s are typically more expensive. In the past, Uber has partnered with Waymo to offer customers a self-driving vehicle option in the app.
“Everyone’s a little worried about robots coming for their jobs right now, and drivers are a part of that as well,” the driver told KING 5.
