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SFMTA Citizens Advisory Council urges rejection of Waymo on Market Street; public commenters split
Summary
The SFMTA Citizens Advisory Council urged the agency to oppose allowing Waymo robotaxis on lower and mid‑Market Street, citing likely congestion, degraded Muni service and equity concerns; public commenters were divided.
The SFMTA Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) presented a motion urging the agency to oppose adding commercial autonomous passenger services, including Waymo robotaxis, to lower and mid‑Market Street.
Aaron Leafer, CAC chair, read a motion the CAC passed unanimously recommending the SFMTA reject any attempt to add commercial passenger vehicles such as Waymo to this section of the public right‑of‑way. The motion said allowing more private passenger vehicles would increase congestion, worsen Muni service and favor affluent private customers over public transit users; it described justifications that cite concerns about downtown recovery as unfounded and warned of degraded Muni service slowing economic recovery.
Public comment immediately after the CAC report presented contrasting views. Griffin Lee, representing Connected SF, told the board the organization supports the mayor’s initiative to allow Waymo on Market Street, arguing additional options could help downtown businesses and bring more customers to venues. Lee said the change would permit multimodal access to downtown destinations.
Other commenters opposed Waymo access. Cyrus Hall noted taxis already operate on Market Street and warned that allowing Waymo could lead to litigation from other private‑hire operators and create safety and operational conflicts if autonomous vehicles stall in transit lanes. Hall described situations in which an autonomous vehicle stopping in the right‑most lane could force cyclists into transit lanes and cause cascading transit delays.
Ending: The CAC’s advisory motion was presented to the board for consideration; no board vote on the CAC recommendation took place at the meeting. Board members and staff will consider the CAC’s advice alongside other outreach and policy work related to Market Street access.
