This is the monthly edition of the Transport Workers Union’s Transportation Technology Newsletter. We aim to inform and educate our members, the labor movement, the public and policymakers about developments in transportation technology – and what the TWU is doing to ensure that new technology doesn’t undermine safety or harm the livelihoods of hard-working blue-collar workers. For suggestions and questions, please email ewytkind@gmail.com or adaugherty@twu.org.
ITEM OF THE MONTH
DANGEROUS DUO: Ride-sharing giant Uber announced a “multiyear strategic partnership” with autonomous vehicle company Cruise – despite the company’s ban in California for several safety incidents including dragging a pedestrian in San Francisco. Uber itself has issues with self-driving vehicles; the company halted its driverless vehicle program in 2018 after an autonomous car hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite the California ban, Cruise currently operates in Phoenix, Dallas and Houston and the company will start providing Uber trips in one of those cities in 2025. The move, marrying a big-time AV player with the largest ride-share company in the United States, demonstrates the dangers of rapid autonomous vehicle adoption against the wishes of regulators and elected officials
“Cruise is banned in California – for good reason – and now the company wants to partner with Uber in an attempt to gain customers and revenue as it copes with years of woeful finances,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “Riders should be wary of stepping into an unproven autonomous vehicle. Autonomous transportation is not ready for prime time and should not be seen as a viable alternative to public transit systems.”
Cruise began testing their robotaxis this spring in Phoenix after suspending all operations following the San Francisco incident. The tests, which currently involve manual operators, expanded to Texas this summer. On the same day the Uber partnership was announced, Cruise said it would recall its 1,194 self-driving cars to resolve problems with unexpected braking, TechCrunch reports. The recall prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to close a two-year investigation into the issue.
TechCrunch reports the braking issue was due to inaccurate predictions of cars in a robotaxi’s path and hard braking occurred if other cars were too close to Cruise’s sensors. So in addition to the major safety concerns with AVs, prepare to get carsick if you venture out in one.
WHAT ELSE IS COOKING
SCHOOL SAFETY IN QUESTION: While Cruise is banned in San Francisco, Waymo continues to operate and continues to cause headaches. NBC Bay Area reports that San Francisco Mayor London Breed is concerned with the results of a survey indicating that 25 percent of school crossing guards reported nearly being hit by Waymo driverless cars over the past year while guiding families and children along crosswalks.
“Of course, it concerns me,” Breed told NBC Bay Area. “We are doing everything we can within our authority to hold them accountable.” City officials met with the AV company in mid-August to relay their concerns as the new school year begins.
Breed said Cruise needs to provide more data to city officials so they can better understand the problem and why robotaxis get too close to crossing guards and children. Collisions are required to be disclosed but there’s no requirement to divulge near misses, NBC reports.
“Children and crossing guards should not be made to feel unsafe by driverless vehicles bearing down on them,” said TWU International Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate. “Yet again, San Francisco is a cautionary tale for what life will look like in the rest of the country if AVs continue to expand with minimal oversight.”
JUST MAKE IT STOP: While admittedly less dangerous than near misses at schools, Waymo vehicles in San Francisco are causing literal headaches for some residents, as a parking lot full of AVs in San Francisco can’t stop honking at one another, even at four in the morning. Residents told ABC7 the honking got progressively worse over a number of weeks until the company promised to look into the matter.
The honking, which predictably went viral on social media, caused a local resident who filmed a video of the lot to say “I would find it funny if it wasn’t 4 a.m.”
Hamburg, Germany Going All in For Big Fleet of Self-Driving Mini-Buses Failing to learn from the US robotaxi debacle that has played out on San Francisco and other streets, the German port city of Hamburg is launching 20 electric, driverless “mini-buses” in 2026 to offer free on-demand service in a project funded with massive federal public investments.
Once the pilot phase is completed, the vision is to massively expand to 10,000 autonomous vehicles into Hamburg’s transit system by 2030. The vehicles – one of them can hold 15 passengers – will operate with an “on-board observer” during the trial but as reported, the project “has the potential to eliminate a key operating cost: the drivers.”
‘Automated’ Rail Inspections Coming to Italy: Italy is getting into the automated railroad game with testing of an uncrewed rail vehicle that inspects high-speed electrified rail lines, apparently at 200 km per hour, or 124 mph. This comes on the heels of a major freight railroad testing an AI-enabled train inspection portal here in the US.
Using the same line peddled by most tech companies, claims were made that this automated inspection vehicle or ‘pod’ could be used for “dull, dirty and dangerous” jobs. The system being piloted can operate in automated or remote control mode.
“Note to railroad executives: inspections are critical functions performed by highly skilled rail workers,” said TWU Rail Division Director John Feltz. “We should use technology as an augmenting tool that makes transportation safer, not as a substitute for the training and knowhow of inspectors. This work should be done by qualified Car Inspectors and rail companies should not be reliant on unproven AI tech to pad their bottom lines at the expense of safety.”
WHAT WE’RE READING: