Waymo driverless cars are coming to Chicago as company starts "laying early groundwork"
Waymo is coming to Chicago, and some of those vehicles were already spotted in the city.
The driverless car company based in Silicon Valley said it will start "laying the early groundwork" for operations in Chicago.
The vehicles are already in the city, each had drivers and were not picking up any customers. They were surveying the roads in preparation for if and when it goes live.
At least two rows of the Waymo vehicles were found inside a parking garage downtown.
"We are coordinating closely with community leaders and policymakers and believe autonomous technology can strongly support Chicago's goals for road safety and enhanced accessibility for all communities," Waymo officials said in a written release.
It is not clear when Waymo service will be available in Chicago, but the service is already live in other cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed the city was notified about operations and said, " It was stated to the City that the company would not be presently deploying any autonomous vehicles within Chicago." The mayor's office released the following statement in part:
"There is no law or regulatory framework which prohibits any licensed individual from driving in Chicago. As of now, autonomous vehicles have not been authorized within the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois.
The City looks forward to engaging with commuters, workers, transit advocates and industry leaders as we pursue constructive dialogue with our partners in Springfield and pursue an equitable path forward."
The mayor's office said Waymo will be operating in Chicago to map streets and record data on driving conditions.
Not everyone was thrilled by the idea of a driverless car, expressing concerns over safety, especially with Chicago's specific traffic patterns and in the case of snowy roads.
No one's driving it, and I don't know what it's programmed to do," said Mia Dorien.
Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) has introduced a bill that could allow a Waymo pilot program in multiple Illinois counties, including Cook County, but it hasn't passed yet.
"I'm thinking of changing my career. Going somewhere else," said taxi driver Hamid Sakhahane.
Sakhahane has been driving for 15 years and said he's terrified of what this could mean for his livelihood.
"Business it's already bad because of Uber, so now they came up with the, you know, driverless cabs, it's just going to get worse," he said.
"I've taken one, and they're awesome," said Brett Broz. "I think it's the other people you've gotta worry about, probably more than the Waymos."
Philipp Kampshoff, who has been studying how safe Waymo is, said there has been a lot of progress since he spoke with CBS News Chicago two years ago about the self-driving cars. He said technology for the vehicles has improved tremendously.
"Now the sensors have gotten better, the compute has gotten better, the models have gotten better. So, I think there's an increase in confidence that these robo taxis can also drive safely in more complicated situations, which may mean traffic patterns, traffic congestion is a little higher, maybe the weather is a little bad, a little worse, and in these conditions, the robo taxis will still be able to maneuver."
Self-driving car advocates have touted safety as a primary reason to have autonomous vehicles on the road. Some researchers at Johns Hopkins University have even argued that at some point, self-driving cars will "become the norm rather than the exception." Among the most popular safety arguments is that autonomous vehicles cannot drive drunk.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Illinois put forth this exact argument in the Waymo announcement, saying in a statement quoted by the company: "Roadway safety across all of Illinois is quite simply one of the most important issues today. Autonomous vehicles hold the exciting promise of preventing deaths and injuries caused by behavioral factors, including impaired driving, if deployed responsibly and safely and in collaboration with the right community and city stakeholders. We welcome Waymo into these new communities as another tool in the toolbox to end impaired driving."
CBS News Chicago has reached out to Chicago officials for more information.