The Alphabet subsidiary says it won't operate driverless taxis in the city until it receives a permit, despite resistance from several city council members
Waymo has begun manually driving vehicles through Portland streets to prepare for a future robotaxi service, even as several city council members have voiced opposition to the plan.
The Alphabet $GOOGL subsidiary said it is working with state and city officials to create a regulatory path to deployment. Operating in Portland without first obtaining a permit is something Waymo has said it will not do, according to a company spokesperson.
Draft rules under development at the Portland Bureau of Transportation would require any autonomous vehicle to secure a permit before operating, with conditions including proof of insurance, compliance with safety requirements, and accessibility provisions for riders with disabilities, according to OPB. The bureau recently finished collecting public feedback on the policy, and staff are reviewing responses before producing a second draft.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson expressed support for the expansion, saying autonomous technology could help the city reach its Vision Zero goals to eliminate traffic fatalities. "We need every tool to help us meet our Vision Zero goals, and autonomous technology plays an increasingly important role in providing a safe, thriving, affordable multimodal transportation system," Wilson said in a statement.
Not all city officials share that view. Council Vice President Olivia Clark called the prospect of driverless cars on Portland streets "kind of disturbing" at a February legislative hearing, according to OPB. Councilor Mitch Green has stated publicly that he does not support Waymo's expansion to Portland.
Internal company figures put the rate of serious crashes involving Waymo vehicles at 92% below that of human-driven cars. At the same time, deployments in other cities have not been without incident — the vehicles have at times blocked emergency responders and contributed to localized congestion, OPB reported.
Disability Rights Oregon offered a cautiously optimistic response, welcoming the news as a potential milestone for accessible transportation while warning that enthusiasm depends on whether the city council enforces Waymo's obligations — including ensuring vehicles consistently detect wheelchair users at crosswalks and that accessible rides remain a structural guarantee rather than a marketing claim.
Portland's transportation bureau, drawing on what it has learned from other Waymo markets, anticipates the street-mapping effort will stretch across several months and involve roughly 10 to 12 vehicles, according to OPB. Earlier this year, legislation at the state level that would have established rules for autonomous vehicles stalled in committee without advancing.
Across the United States, Waymo's fully autonomous taxi service is now active in 11 cities, with testing underway in an additional 21, among them Seattle.
