Washington DC – As AV technology spreads, Legislation introduced in Washington, D.C., would require future school buses to have professional human drivers with a government-issued commercial driver’s license at the wheel. It also sets Autonomous Vehicle rules and parameters – the first federal such guardrails – that will protect transit Bus Operators’ employment and keep them on board and engaged for decades.
Surface Transportation Re-authorization bill is a Massive Victory for Workers Threatened by Autonomous Vehicle Technology
The bipartisan Surface Transportation Re-authorization bill introduced by Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) is a massive win for workers fighting to preserve jobs and increase safety as autonomous vehicle technology develops beyond robotaxis to transit buses, motorcoaches, school buses and other commercial vehicles, Said TWU International President John Samuelsen.
This bill would set, for the first time, a national federal standard for such commercial AVs to guarantee they are safe before they are put on our streets. This standard includes human oversight and the ability for humans to intervene, as necessary, to keep these vehicles safe.
“This is a massive win for workers and the riding public,” Samuelsen said. “The bill sets critically important guardrails for the next wave of autonomous vehicles and advances our top priorities: protecting the employment of our members and ensuring the Wild West chaos that has occurred with the roll out of robotaxis is not repeated. We’ve said from the very beginning that technology should assist Bus Operators, not recklessly replace them and throw them into unemployment. This bill is a big step forward in ensuring that people, working men and women, remain central figures in providing public transit and school transportation.”
The bill also directs the DOT to establish a second set of operating rules to address safety-related duties performed by Bus Operators other than operating the vehicle. The bill directly requires qualified drivers operate yellow school buses and hazmat vehicles.
TWU Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate said, “The human component of public transportation cannot be replaced by a robot or algorithm. They do a hell of a lot more than operate buses. They are another set of eyes and ears for law enforcement and medical first responders, assist the disabled boarding and exiting, give directions and much more, including on occasion comforting and aiding pregnant mothers going into labor before reaching the hospital. They are invaluable.”
“Qualified car inspectors, mechanics, engineers, and conductors could prevent deaths on the railroad every day if they had the right safety rules in place,” said TWU Rail Division Director John Feltz. “It is shameful that Congress hasn’t yet banned maximum inspection times for car inspectors to conduct their work or taken any action to even acknowledge the horrific derailments and accidents happening every day across the country.”
As this bill moves through the committee’s review process in Washingron, the TWU will be seeking significant improvements in the rail title to improve rail safety and protect workers on the job.
The TWU represents more than 160,000 workers across the airline, railroad, transit, universities, utilities and service sectors. The TWU is the largest airline workers union in the United States.
