Concerns over driverless cars in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Members of Philadelphia City Council held a hearing on Tuesday to examine the potential dangers of adding more driverless cars to the streets.

Outside City Hall, opponents rallied with signs and chants.

"Our city is not a testing ground," said Councilmember Rue Landeau.

They are concerned about companies, like Waymo, which has been testing autonomous vehicles in Philadelphia since last July.

"The city is not a beta project. The people are not an experiment," said Rev. Ian Harris, of Phillips Temple Church.

Safety was a major focus of the hearing.

Alex Kaufman said her Waymo ride in Phoenix became dangerous when the vehicle shut down in traffic.

"It was definitely very close to a fatal accident, and I had cars coming at me at 50, 60 mph," she said.

Others raised alarms about cybersecurity vulnerabilities, including the possibility of hacking.

"I don't believe that it would require serious cyber capabilities to hack into that," said Dr. Sorelle Friedler, a professor of computer science at Haverford College.

Rideshare drivers also shared fears about job security, with roughly 60,000 gig workers in Philadelphia.

"A lot of these drivers came to this work because it gave us the flexibility and opportunity to make an honest living," said Uber driver Mamadu Bah.

Waymo submitted written testimony for the hearing and told Action News that Pennsylvania authorized autonomous vehicles in 2022 under the purview of PennDOT.

The city's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) echoed that point, saying the state sets the rules.

"Unfortunately, because we are preempted by the state legislature, we don't have any leverage," said Anna Kelly of OTIS.

Waymo maintains that its technology is a safe option. While riders cannot order a Waymo ride right now, the company says it plans to expand service to both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.