Minneapolis council votes 7-6 to force drivers in robotaxis; Mayor Frey vetoes it as a backdoor ban
Afinetheorem · x · 2026-10-04
The Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance 7-6 requiring robotaxi companies to obtain a special city license and keep a human in the driver's seat on every trip — a move critics including Waymo say would effectively push robotaxis out of the city and raise rider costs.
Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the measure a day later, calling it a "back door ban" and arguing the city should embrace innovative transportation options while pursuing safety regulation in other forms. The ordinance's authors (Council Members Wonsley, Chavez, Chowdhury and Vice President Osman) are now pushing to override the veto, framing the bill as prioritizing public safety and drivers' jobs over "Big Tech's profit motives" and criticizing safety being "outsourced to workers in the Philippines."
The poster pushes back on the council's safety rationale, noting Minnesota logged 27,000 DUI arrests in 2025 versus 363 self-driving-related arrests.
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