Americans are so concerned about autonomous vehicles that Minneapolis is considering requiring drivers to sit inside Waymos

Passengers and rideshare drivers alike are growing nervous about the future of autonomous cars, and Minneapolis is the latest city to place guardrails on the vehicles over worker and safety concerns.

Four Minneapolis city councilors, nearly one-third of the body, proposed an ordinance that would prevent self-driving cars from operating on the road by themselves, instead requiring licensed drivers to serve as a “safety monitor” for the autonomous vehicles on the road. Those human drivers, who would have “immediate access to controls for steering, braking, and acceleration,” would be paid at least minimum wage. The City Council will have a public hearing for the measure on Sept. 22, and the ordinance, if passed, would go into effect next October.

No other city in the U.S. has proposed or passed a similar measure, despite lawmakers across 25 states introducing more than 65 bills to regulate self-driving technology. Major Jacob Frey has not endorsed the ordinance, instead saying he would take the lead of the state in introducing and expanding robotaxi adoption. There are currently no state laws regulating autonomous cars.

Alphabet-owned Waymo began testing its fleet in the Twin Cities in November 2025 with fewer than 10 cars, all of which have drivers in the front seat. The company has about 4,000 driverless vehicles across 15 cities, up from 700 in early 2025.

Though only a tiny fraction of the 298 million registered vehicles on the roads in the U.S., the robotaxi industry is expanding. Goldman........

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