St. Paul council authorizes driverless vehicle study, Minneapolis tries to override veto

Minneapolis autonomous vehicles: City Council could override mayor's veto Some Minneapolis City Council members aim to override the mayor's veto on driverless vehicles. Meanwhile, the St. Paul City Council approved a new study on the matter. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl has the latest details.  The Brief On Oct. 1 in Minneapolis, the City Council approved a 7-6 rule requiring a licensed person inside driverless rideshare vehicles.The council will attempt to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of that rule on Thursday, Oct. 15.In St. Paul, the City Council approved a staff study on how driverless cars could affect the city. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two Twin Cities councils are taking different steps responding to autonomous vehicle technology. Minneapolis pushes human safety monitor rule for Waymo What we know: Minneapolis moved toward tighter rules for driverless rides while St. Paul chose to study the technology before deciding what to do next. On Oct. 1 in Minneapolis, the City Council approved a city ordinance that would require a licensed person to be inside and act as a human safety monitor for driverless rideshare vehicles. The ordinance would require AV companies like Waymo obtain a city license, a monitor with a driver’s license to sit inside with immediate access to steering, braking and acceleration, and minimum wage pay for that monitor. Local perspective: The 7-6 vote put Minneapolis on track to become the first U.S. city to require a person in the driver’s seat for robotaxis. The yes votes came from Elliott Payne, Robin Wonsley, Jamal Osman, Soren Stevenson, Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai and Aurin Chowdhury. Waymo called the move a "de-facto ban," and Mayor Jacob Frey swiftly vetoed the measure. If the council does not reach the nine votes needed to override the veto, Wonsley said in an Oct. 14 news conference she will bring forward another resolution centered on rideshare worker jobs. "The entire basis of this ordinance was also - how do we protect workers. That is not what we’re seeing in regulations across the country when it comes to autonomous vehicles and Minneapolis has the opportunity to lead on that front and say, as we’re welcoming technological advancements in our city we’re not going to leave workers behind," said Wonsley, who represents Ward 2, said. Minneapolis leaders call on city council to override Waymo veto Minneapolis city leaders, drivers and small business owners gathered Wednesday afternoon to urge the Minneapolis City Council to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of Workers Drive Minneapolis. The city council will vote on whether to override or sustain the veto on October 15th. The other side: "Requiring a driver in a driverless car doesn't make sense," said Frey. "Minneapolis is open for business, open to innovative technology, and open to a variety of transportation options. Thoughtful regulation for safety is necessary, but not through a backdoor ban." Supporters of autonomous vehicles argue the technology can make travel safer, reduce crashes and lower the risk of assault and discrimination for riders.  "No other city in the U.S. requires this, and the authors [of the ordinance] have refused to wait to move this forward until we receive a full research report," Council member Elizabeth Shaffer said prior to the vote. "We live in a free market society. Our residents, including those in the disability community, want the ability to choose… I disagree that we are doing any meaningful action here… I think this is part of why other municipalities often look at Minneapolis with concern: When we jump out ahead of research and create policy that is affecting other jurisdictions. People wonder what we are doing." St. Paul orders study before writing driverless car rules On Oct. 14 in St. Paul, the City Council approved a study of driverless vehicles, instead of immediate regulation. City staff will examine how driverless cars could affect public transportation, rideshare drivers and people with disabilities, along with public safety and emergency response. Why you should care: Rebecca Noecker, the St. Paul City Council president, said the city wants to hear from the community before deciding whether any guardrails are needed. "Our responsibility is to look out for the people of St. Paul, not these corporations. So depending on what our recommendations are, depending on what our community tells us, there may be guardrails that we can put in place that allow for these vehicles to operate safely. But we need to do the work first to figure out if that’s even possible," said Noecker. FOX 9 reporter Emily Pofahl asked Noecker whether she would support requiring human safety monitors in the driver’s seat. Noecker did not rule that out, but said she does not want to "pre-suppose" the study results or what regulations might follow. What we don't know: There is no timeline for when St. Paul’s study will be finished. There is also no timeline for when Waymo will officially launch in Minneapolis. The company has been mapping city streets for months ahead of a potential rollout. It is also not clear whether Minneapolis council members had the nine votes needed to override Frey’s veto. The Source: FOX 9 reporting from Emily Pofahl and Karen Scullin on Minneapolis and St. Paul driverless car debates. TransportationPoliticsMinneapolisSt. PaulBusinessConsumer