Waymo's future in Twin Cities uncertain after Minnesota Legislature fails to pass guidelines for self-driving cars
A bill that would have cleared the way for driverless cars did not pass as the 2026 Minnesota legislative session wrapped, but many continue to wonder what that means for the future of what was once an unthinkable piece of technology.
"You can't deny that autonomous vehicles are going to be a huge part of the future of transportation," Rep. Jon Koznick said in a late 2025 interview with WCCO.
Cars without drivers on Minnesota streets was a large topic of conversation during this year's session. DFL Rep. Brad Tabke is the co-chair of the state House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. He says current Minnesota law doesn't allow driverless cars.
"Republicans really wanted to move forward with straight-up industry language and us Democrats didn't want to move forward without having safety guardrails around it," Tabke said. "We were really close at the end of the session and I thought we had a solution to go."
Waymo already operates in cities like Phoenix, Miami and San Francisco and started testing their cars with drivers behind the wheel in the Twin Cities late last year.
Adam Lane of Waymo's state and local public policy team says people will continue to see Waymos across Minnesota streets for the foreseeable future.
"It's a difficult legislature with a power-sharing agreement in one House and a very slim majority in the Senate, so we always expected this to be an uphill battle," said Lane.
The company says their whole idea is to provide, what they say, is a new technology that's able to reduce deaths on our roads. The president of a rideshare driver advocacy group says Minnesota's thousands of Uber and Lyft workers remain anxious about what it means for them.
"It's something that I constantly hear daily. It's not something the drivers are taking lightly," said Eid Ali, of the Minnesota Uber and Lyft Drivers Association.
"We'll continue to work on it," said Tabke.
WCCO reached out to the GOP co-chair of the House Transportation Committee. His office did not respond to our questions.
