Uber backs limits on autonomous vehicle rollout in Washington, D.C.

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Uber supports AV limits in D.C.

Highlights

Washington, D.C. Council is considering a bill to broadly legalize autonomous vehicles for passenger and goods transport, raising labor concerns over job and wage impacts.
As many as 35,000 gig drivers—9% of D.C.'s labor force—face job risks amid the proposal and a regional loss of 100,000 jobs due to federal cuts.
Uber supports a hybrid model and is backing limits on fully autonomous fleets, citing its New Jersey lobbying for an 85% human-driver requirement over three years.

Washington bill sharpens autonomous vehicle divide

As first reported by CNBC, the Washington, D.C. Council is considering the Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act, a proposal that would allow broad use of autonomous vehicles to carry passengers and goods across the District.

Organized labor is scrutinizing the measure over concerns that self-driving technology could depress wages and reduce employment opportunities for drivers. Those concerns carry particular weight in Washington, where as many as 35,000 gig work drivers account for about 9% of the labor force, based on 2024 data.

The issue is becoming more politically charged as the wider D.C. metro area has lost more than 100,000 jobs over a one-year period, largely because of federal job cuts. Crystal Middleton, a part-time rideshare driver and member of 32BJ SEIU, says the council is weighing entry by Waymo at a time when the city is already facing an unemployment crisis.

Uber pursues hybrid model as labor weighs job risks

Uber has long supported autonomous vehicle expansion, and the company has spent the past year emphasizing its own AV ambitions. Even so, it is siding with unions in the current D.C. debate by arguing that transportation will develop as a hybrid market where human drivers and autonomous vehicles operate alongside each other.

That stance reflects Uber's interest in preserving a mixed rideshare network rather than allowing a rapid shift to fully driverless fleets. In New Jersey, Uber lobbyists have circulated legislation that would require human drivers to perform 85% of rideshare work on platforms offering robotaxi services over the next three years.

Despite the tactical overlap, Uber and labor groups are pursuing different goals. Unions remain focused on the effects on pay and employment at street level, and they are not adopting Waymo's reassurances about the economic impact of wider autonomous deployment.

Our earlier article covered the White House’s push to finalize a federal AI regulatory framework under President Trump’s executive order, including voluntary pre-release model submissions and a classified benchmarking process for “covered frontier models.” We noted how the debate has intensified over access rules, trusted-partner provisions, and the competitive pressure from open-weight models as policymakers weigh potential restrictions and oversight.

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