There’s a bill sitting in front of the D.C. Council that most people have probably never even heard of. Why would you, honestly, unless you follow transportation policy for a living. But it’s turned into a real fight. Ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with Waymo because of it, which is a little strange when you remember these two used to be partners. Waymo cars are literally still on Uber’s app right now in Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta. And yet here they are, basically going at each other in a council hearing room.
What’s the bill actually say. It would update D.C.’s old 2012 law on autonomous vehicles and let robotaxis run fully driverless, no human safety operator in the car at all. That’s it, that’s the whole thing on paper. Except Uber really doesn’t like it, at least not the version currently sitting in front of the council, and that’s basically where ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with everything Waymo’s trying to build here. Also Read How to Recover Deleted Photos on iphone and Android?
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Why Is Uber Even Fighting This
Here’s the part that trips people up. Uber doesn’t build its own robotaxi anymore. Sold the self-driving unit off to Aurora back in 2020, got out of the tech side completely. So why fight this hard over a bill about robots it doesn’t make?
Because if the bill goes through as written, Uber’s argument is it basically hands Waymo a monopoly in the district. Waymo’s got its own separate app, doesn’t share the platform with Uber, and has zero human drivers whose income is riding on any of this. Ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with Waymo mainly because of that gap — Uber’s got a workforce it has to answer to, Waymo just doesn’t, and that’s really the whole fight boiled down.
The “Hybrid Network” Uber Won’t Stop Talking About
Uber’s counter is something it’s calling a hybrid network. Simple enough idea — one app, one platform, and a rider gets matched to either a human driver or a robotaxi depending on what’s around, instead of some separate robotaxi-only experience running off on its own. Uber put out a white paper on this in May and hasn’t really let up on pushing it since, based on public records TechCrunch got a look at.
Javi Correoso runs U.S. policy for Uber, and he’s been pretty blunt about the reasoning. His argument, more or less: robotaxis alone create more traffic, can’t help elderly or disabled riders the way an actual person can, and every single one on the road replaces something like four human drivers’ worth of work. That’s a big chunk of why ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with Waymo instead of Uber just quietly sitting this one out. Also Read Why Are Companies Investing Billions in AI Infrastructure?
Waymo’s Side of It
Waymo isn’t exactly staying quiet about any of this either. The company backs the bill and says, pretty directly, this was never about locking anyone out — it’s about setting rules for safe deployment, full stop. Waymo’s even said it’d be fine with adding language that clarifies other network models, Uber’s hybrid idea included, could operate in D.C. too.
Even so. Ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with Waymo’s version of the story, because Uber just isn’t buying that framing. Uber’s line is that a first-party-only setup — meaning Waymo’s closed app running solo, basically — has already caused headaches in other cities, and D.C. shouldn’t walk into the same thing.
And Then There’s the Money
This bill isn’t only about who gets to operate, either. There’s a $0.15-per-mile fee tacked onto every robotaxi trip, split between public transit funding and retraining programs for drivers who might lose work to automation. Add in a $1 million application fee, a separate $5 million permit fee, and a requirement to carry at least $5 million in liability insurance.
Critics point out those numbers are steep enough to basically shut out anyone who isn’t already massive — which, well, describes Waymo pretty well. That’s another layer to why ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with the bill as written. Uber’s argument is the whole fee structure quietly tilts toward the one company that can most easily eat those costs.
It’s Bigger Than Just D.C.
Uber isn’t only fighting this in Washington, either. Wired reported similar lobbying going on in New Jersey, where one draft would actually require human drivers to handle 85% of all rides for three straight years — an even more aggressive ask than what’s on the table in D.C. Uber’s said it plans to keep pushing this same hybrid pitch in other states as more lawmakers write or update their own AV laws.
That’s really the bigger pattern underneath why ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with Waymo in more than one place at the same time. This was never just a one-city policy squabble. It’s Uber trying to set the ground rules for an entire industry it doesn’t actually build the core technology for anymore.
These Two Have History
This isn’t the first round between Uber and Waymo, not even close. Back in 2017, Waymo sued Uber over trade secret theft, accusing it of using files a former Google engineer downloaded before jumping ship. That trial had some genuinely wild moments before Uber settled just five days in, and for a while afterward things stayed pretty civil between them, at least in public.
That civility’s clearly worn off by now. Uber’s CTO has publicly called out Waymo’s driving on X, and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made some pointed comments about AV safety on an earnings call back in May. So yeah, ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with Waymo through this one bill specifically, but the tension underneath it has obviously been building for a lot longer than that. Also Read How to speed up a slow Android phone in 2026
What Comes Next
There’s a hearing scheduled, and it’s not just these two companies showing up. Tesla, Lyft, labor groups like the Teamsters and SEIU, disability advocacy organizations, even an anti-robotaxi campaign group are all expected to speak. Don’t expect a fast resolution here — most people watching this figure a final vote, if there even is one, probably doesn’t happen until sometime later this year.
Whatever ends up happening, it’s pretty clear ubers robotaxi lobbying effort has put on collision with a lot more than just one company’s D.C. plans. This is shaping up to be an early test case, and a bunch of other cities are almost certainly watching to see how it plays out before writing their own rules.