Waymo robotaxis will soon be allowed to drive on 'car-free' section of SF's Market St., mayor says

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Thursday that Waymo autonomous vehicles will begin operating on Market Street as soon as this summer, grouping them with other modes of public transportation. Opposition groups claim it will make Market Street more dangerous and hurt public transit.

Private vehicles have been banned from a 2.2-mile stretch of the road from Main Street to 10th Street since 2020, as part of a Better Market Street initiative. Public transit, taxis, bicycles, commercial and emergency vehicles remain.

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"That was a decades-long public process that the mayor is upending overnight. It took two decades to get the better Market Street plan and car-free Market into place," said Christopher White, Executive Director of the SF Bicycle Coalition.

White views this change as a dangerous decision for cyclists on a high-injury network, despite studies that have found self-driving vehicles to be less prone to accidents.

"Since private vehicles were removed from Market Street, vehicle crashes have fallen by 40 percent," said White. "Whether or not there is a human behind the wheel or not, vehicles, cars on Market Street are not the answer to revitalizing Market Street."

Lurie says he is welcoming Waymo to the heart of the city to help downtown recover. For years, many have blamed the removal of cars as a key reason of decreased parking and foot traffic.

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ABC7 News went to the area to speak to the businesses.

"It's 100 percent helpful. I think that any kind of rideshare that can come down here will definitely improve because people's main issue is parking," said Shaun Kaiser, "Bait" store manager.

The owner of Warm Planet Bikes welcomes the self-driving vehicles here but is concerned that this will open the door for Uber and Lyft vehicles to come back to the area and block emergency vehicles.

"My concern is that there is a persistent belief that car-free Market Street is what caused the chaos. I was here when it was a traffic sewer. It was 10 times worse," said Kash.

The SF Bicycle Coalition is urging the mayor to focus on other aspects that will bring people back to Market Street.

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"Finding additional solutions to the other problems that plague Market Street, whether it's problems with addiction, mental health, and housing. These kinds of deep-seated problems are the things that are really impacting Market Street and we need to address those root causes rather than looking for ineffective Band-Aid solutions," said White.

Waymo released a statement saying they are "honored " to be "invited" to Market Street.

In the coming weeks, the company will start mapping the area. Service is expected as soon as this summer.

Waymo sent this statement to ABC7 news:

"We are thrilled that San Franciscans have embraced Waymo in their daily lives since our commercial launch in the city in 2023, and we're encouraged that the Waymo Driver is already making roads safer where we operate. Every week residents and visitors alike take tens of thousands of trips across the city to work, to shop, to the doctor's office, or even for date night- often in combination with one of the many other modes of transportation available in San Francisco," said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO, Waymo. "We're honored that Mayor Lurie has invited us to serve as a mobility option on San Francisco's historic Market Street."

Bay City News Service contributed to this article.