SAN FRANCISCO — Autonomous ride-booking company Waymo is planning to bring its robotaxi testing to the small East Bay city of Emeryville, marking the first time the Alphabet-owned company has been reported to be expanding across the bay from San Francisco.
The expansion comes amid vocal concerns raised by labor groups with close ties to California’s Democratic leaders about the threat self-driving technology poses to union jobs in the state.
Waymo was met with local protests when the California Public Utilities Commission first gave it authorization to operate last year, and San Francisco previously sued the company to stop its expansion with the backing of local progressives. But a shift toward more moderate, business-friendly leaders like San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has seen those cities welcome the robotaxis, and the tech industry, with open arms.
What’s new: Documents obtained by POLITICO through a public records request show that the company reached out to Emeryville Mayor David Mourra in March, telling him the company planned to conduct testing on his city’s roadways with a driver behind the wheel of its vehicles. The company’s state permit allows it to test anywhere in California on public roads with a driver present.
