In San Francisco, Waymo handles 3% of car trips with 90% fewer serious crashes than human drivers. Boston has been blocking it since July 2025. The counter below shows what that delay has cost, at SF's current market penetration.
Waymo isn't experimental. It's operating in five major U.S. cities with a track record that dwarfs human drivers. The arguments against it don't hold up.
Across 200+ million autonomous miles, Waymo vehicles experience 90% fewer serious accidents than human drivers. Every incident is federally required to be reported publicly. There's no hiding the data. Multiple independent analyses confirm the same result.
Nearly 40,000 Americans, including ~360 Massachusettsans, die in traffic crashes every year. An 80% reduction would save more lives annually than eliminating all U.S. homicides or all skin cancer deaths combined. Waymo is not a convenience. It's a life-saving technology.
Waymo is a private company. Bringing it to Boston costs taxpayers nothing: no public subsidy, no infrastructure spend. The only thing standing between Boston and a safer, more accessible transit option is political will.
Millions of Americans, including the blind, disabled, elderly, and those too young to drive, depend on others for mobility. David Kingsbury, President of the Bay State Council of the Blind, put it simply: "Waymo promises safer, more accessible transportation that will not discriminate."
Waymo operates paid autonomous rides in 11 U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, and San Antonio, completing 500,000 rides per week. Boston is already listed as "coming soon" on Waymo's own website. The technology is ready. Boston's politicians are the only thing in the way.
Every Waymo vehicle is fully electric. For a city with aggressive climate goals, blocking Waymo means defending fossil-fuel rideshare and human-driven traffic: the same congestion Boston claims to want to reduce.
Journalist Kelsey Piper has covered this issue in depth. Her work is the best primer on why the opposition's arguments don't hold up.
Boston isn't waiting for evidence. Boston already has the evidence. What follows is a timeline of how the city's political establishment chose process over lives.
Months from Waymo's first testing presence in a city to commercial launch. In Boston's case: still waiting. Scale: 24 months.
Sources: Waymo blog, TechCrunch, 9to5Google. "Testing" defined as first driverless (no safety driver) operation in city. Boston testing began May 2025; Gen 6 winter testing February 2026.
The House AV bill was killed by study order in April. The Senate bill S.2379 is the last active pathway this legislative session. The committee must act by July 31, 2026, or it's gone too.
S.2379 dies on July 31 if the Joint Committee on Transportation doesn't act. Senate Chair Brendan Crighton and bill sponsor Sen. William Driscoll are the two people who can move it. A pre-written email is below. Edit it, send it, takes two minutes.
Email Crighton & Driscoll → View S.2379 →Governor Healey has not publicly supported AV legislation. She talks about Massachusetts competitiveness, but Waymo is live in 11 cities while MA studies the question indefinitely. Her office needs to hear that this is a priority.
Contact Gov. Healey →Dear Governor Healey, I'm a Massachusetts resident writing about autonomous vehicle policy. Waymo lists Boston as "coming soon" on its website and is live in 11 U.S. cities, but the House AV bill was killed by study order in April 2026, and the Senate bill S.2379 expires July 31. Waymo vehicles are 90% safer than human drivers across 200+ million miles. This costs taxpayers nothing and saves lives. I urge you to publicly support S.2379 and direct MassDOT to create a clear permitting pathway before July 31. Massachusetts should be leading, not studying.
Mayor Wu has not publicly supported AV legislation. Her administration has actively testified against Waymo at City Council. Boston's opposition shapes the political environment for state legislators. Tell her safety data should drive this, not labor politics.
Email Mayor Wu →Also: Sign up for Waymo updates to signal demand in Boston, and find your own state rep to contact them directly.
Bostonians have real questions. We've heard them: from Reddit, from City Hall, from the streets. Here's the honest case for why they don't hold up.