Speed bump for Waymo

To stop skyrocketing energy costs, MA needs battery storage.

Labor unions have been trying to run robotaxi companies like Waymo off the road, citing safety concerns and possible job losses. They’re hailing a new poll that shows Massachusetts voters have their own concerns and three quarters oppose allowing autonomous, driverless vehicles to operate in the state.

Opposition appears strong in Boston specifically, with the poll reporting that two-thirds of voters in the city also oppose driverless vehicles. Safety was a top concern among respondents, along with technology, economic impacts and challenges the vehicles would face on Bay State roads. 

The Labor United Against Waymo Coalition paid for the poll -- a group including the App Drivers Union, International Association of Machinists District 15, 32BJ SEIU and Teamsters Local 25. Polling and research group Workbench Strategy, which has also done work for Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign, surveyed 500 Massachusetts voters between March 8 and 12.

The poll said 68% support legislation that would require driverless vehicles to have a human safety operator on board.

The poll is confirmation of "what we already suspected," Teamsters Local 25 President Tom Mari said in a statement. "Unlike the out-of-state Big Tech executives who are championing these machines so they can make money off of them, Massachusetts residents know that allowing driverless cars and trucks to run wild on our streets is a horrible idea."

Waymo operates in markets like San Francisco, Phoenix and Houston, but faces scrutiny over safety and has been the subject of federal investigation after a crash outside an elementary school in Santa Monica. Waymo announced in February plans to return to Boston for testing and urged state lawmakers to legalize fully autonomous vehicles so they can be regulated. 

Waymo spokesman Ethan Teicher said other data shows the situation isn’t as clear-cut as the poll suggests. He pointed to more than 40,000 Massachusetts voters who signed a petition supporting autonomous vehicles and noting that human error is one of the main causes of crashes.

"It's also the case that this kind of public opinion polling is a result of a lack of experience with the technology," Teicher said in an email. "Polling data from several different sources shows how public opinion completely flips when people can access the technology, which is in part why opponents do everything they can to prevent the public from experiencing it firsthand."

Rep. Jessica Giannino’s bill, sent to a dead-end study in March, would require a driverless car to have a human back-up driver. The reporting deadline on its Senate counterpart was extended to March 31. 

"It's really important that when we talk about autonomous vehicles, we recognize that the roads in Massachusetts, especially in Boston, are not the same as other places where this is working," Giannino said.

"I think in the industry itself, there needs to be so much more testing, so much more research and real data so that as we make decisions as lawmakers, we can look to information and say, 'this is how we're going to deal with problems'" like those that have arisen elsewhere, she said. "I'm glad that we're starting the conversation. I do think it's going to be a much longer discussion."

To stop skyrocketing energy costs, MA needs battery storage.

10:00 | Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at the Nancy L. Donahue Young Women’s Leadership Summit | Lowell Community Charter School, 206 Jackson St, Lowell

10:00 | Members of the Mass. Gaming Commission launch PlayWell, the state's rebranded responsible gaming and player health program, at MGM Springfield | 1 MGM Way, Springfield

11:00 | Gov. Maura Healey appears on GBH Radio's "Boston Public Radio" for the semi-regular "Ask the Governor" segment. | GBH 89.7 FM

11:00 | Joint Committee on Ways and Means holds its second hearing focused on health and human services funding included in Gov. Healey’s $63.38 billion fiscal 2027 budget proposal | Clinton Town Hall at 242 Church St., Clinton | More Info and Livestream

3:20 | Gov. Maura Healey attends opening day for the Worcester Red Sox. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens throws the ceremonial first pitch. Treasurer Deb Goldberg also attends the opening day celebration, as does Auditor Diana DiZoglio | Polar Park, 100 Madison St., Worcester

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Sen. William Brownsberger, facing a Democratic primary challenge from a top aide to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, has pulled in the endorsement of Gov. Maura Healey.

Daniel Lander, who worked for Wu for four years inside City Hall and advised her 2021 mayoral campaign, launched his challenge against the longtime incumbent in December. Wu has criticized Brownsberger and South Boston Sen. Nick Collins for blocking her tax shift proposal on Beacon Hill. Collins is facing a challenger in Latoya Gayle, whose campaign manager is a former Wu City Hall aide.

“Senator Brownsberger’s leadership has been a crucial part of so much of our state’s progress in the last decade, and we need him back on Beacon Hill next year,” Healey said in a statement. “I’ve been proud to work with him on everything from making our communities safer to driving economic growth, and he played an instrumental role in helping the Affordable Homes Act across the finish line to build more housing and lower costs. I’m grateful for his partnership, and I’m proud to support his re-election.”

The Senate district includes Belmont, Watertown, West Cambridge and the Boston neighborhoods of Allston, Brighton and Fenway. — Gintautas Dumcius

SHORTSLEEVE TAPS RUNNING MATE: GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve tapped New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver as his running mate. Oliver joined the Republican party last year, and has worked as a corrections officer for nearly 15 years. — WBUR

AN AUDIT PHONE CALL? Emails, caucus appearances and comments made on the radio are only adding to the ongoing legislative audit feud happening between Auditor Diana DiZoglio and Attorney General Andrea Campbell. — State House News Service

A SMOOTH DRY RUN: Amid concerns about the logistics of the FIFA World Cup games being held in Foxborough in June and July, a Thursday exhibition game between Brazil and France went smoothly, though turnout was smaller than anticipated, especially among train commuters. — Boston Globe

POTENTIAL STRIKE: Over 17,000 school bus drivers across the U.S. could go on strike if a nationwide collective bargaining agreement isn't reached by March 31, when the current agreement between the Teamsters and busing vendor First Student expires. — Telegram and Gazette

ELECTRIC BUS REALITY: It's been an "open secret" that the MBTA won't hit deadlines set by lawmakers in 2022 to electrify its entire fleet of buses, and T higher-ups seem to be teeing up to ask whether the push for an all-electric fleet is worth the tradeoffs. — CommonWealth Beacon

THE FRENCH HEADING TO BENTLEY: Waltham-based Bentley University will host France's FIFA World Cup team, after conversations with Babson College stalled. — Boston Business Journal 

NATIONAL GRID DEFENDS: National Grid reps told the Nantucket Select Board on Wednesday that their new smart meters are accurate, despite widespread billing issues being reported. — Nantucket Current

THOUSANDS FOR NO KINGS: Thousands of Pioneer Valley residents are expected to turn out locally for Saturday's "No Kings" protests against the Trump administration, part of the more than 9 million people who are expected to join the protests nationwide. — Daily Hampshire Gazette

SOIL SAMPLES IN SPRINGFIELD: Tests of thousands of soil samples will be needed to understand the extent of PCB contamination at Springfield's West Parish Water Treatment Plant, which is already facing delayed construction due to findings of contamination. — MassLive

A REPORT ON DOC: A new report found three prisoners died by suicide in the Department of Correction's solitary confinement alternative, which are segregated units created to replace the practice. — Boston Globe

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KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller's guest is Auditor Diana DiZoglio. She discusses her battle with Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Beacon Hill leaders over the audit of the Legislature.

@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Everett Mayor Robert Van Campen.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The guest is Kate Fox, executive director at the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.

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