Boston may soon join a growing list of cities experimenting with driverless taxis. Waymo, the self-driving car company, has already begun testing its technology on Boston streets, and people are divided on whether this new era of transportation is something to embrace or resist.
Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have already hit the roads in cities like San Francisco and Phoenix, where they’ve drawn mixed reactions from riders and residents.
Jason, a Cambridge resident said he has been a passenger in a Waymo in San Francisco. “It was kind of terrifying initially,” he said. “It’s still a fairly new sensation to me, but if it’s cheaper, I’ll probably take it.”
Backlash from rideshare drivers
In Boston, residents may have already noticed Waymo’s test vehicles, which have human drivers inside, mapping out the city. But the prospect of driverless taxis has sparked a backlash from local rideshare drivers who rallied outside the State House on Tuesday.
“How am I going to put food on the table if they don’t give me the opportunity to work?” said Uber and Lyft driver Fernin Castro…