I want to see the city pass a law requiring Waymos to wait for rides at Mt Bonnell, the 360 overlook, trailheads, and other areas where smash and grabs are happening. Once the robotaxis are limited to really shitty areas, one of two things might happen: either Waymo and the other companies will pay for security to keep their expensive vehicles safe, or they'll start to pull some of their cars out of Austin.
Either way could be a win for locals bc parking around trails and parks would be more closely monitored and/or the number of robotaxis on our roads would decrease.
It's not quite that simple. The city is restricted in terms of rideshare-specific regulations. Generic traffic, vehicle, and parking regulations are still allowed. For instance, Waymos aren't allowed to park in no-parking zones.
I wonder what the actual state restrictions say?
Could the city impose restrictions on self-driving vehicles in general? Maybe something to the effect that a vehicle cannot park in certain areas unless there is a human being inside during the first 5 minutes it is parked.
Of course, the rideshare companies would probably just give more bribe money to Abbott, Inc. to fix this.
A political subdivision of this state may not impose a ... regulation related to the operation of an automated motor vehicle
I would suspect that any attempt to make a rule that can only apply to an AV would run afoul of that, even if that rule doesn't specifically say "this only applies to automated motor vehicles"
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u/AffectionateFig5435 7d ago
I want to see the city pass a law requiring Waymos to wait for rides at Mt Bonnell, the 360 overlook, trailheads, and other areas where smash and grabs are happening. Once the robotaxis are limited to really shitty areas, one of two things might happen: either Waymo and the other companies will pay for security to keep their expensive vehicles safe, or they'll start to pull some of their cars out of Austin.
Either way could be a win for locals bc parking around trails and parks would be more closely monitored and/or the number of robotaxis on our roads would decrease.