TAMPA, Fla. — Waymo is bringing self-driving cars to Tampa, but many residents are still skeptical about riding in vehicles without human drivers.
The autonomous vehicle company announced it is laying the groundwork to serve Tampa in the future, marking another expansion of its self-driving technology beyond current markets like California and Arizona.
At Tampa International Airport, Tampa Bay 28's Blake Phillips spent the day asking travelers if they would consider getting into a car without a human driver.
"Absolutely not," Chris Farrell says, "I'll let them get the technology, figure it out, and then I'll go — another 10 years maybe."
"I just don't trust the robots," one person added.
However, not everyone was opposed to the technology. A few travelers who had seen Waymo vehicles in California expressed cautious interest.
"It would be nice to not have a driver and just take me wherever I want to go," said Carol Howard.
And Jody Sacone lives in Austin. She says she sees Waymo's drive by her home every day.
"We don't have any issues as far as I know. Every once in a while they get hung up if something odd is happening on a busy street downtown and the Waymo doesn't know what to do. It doesn't know how to react. But otherwise, no problems," says Sacone.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor sees potential benefits for the city's transportation challenges.
"That's sort of our Achilles heel right now, is transportation," Castor said. "The more automated vehicles we have, the less congestion we'll have."
But the technology could also create challenges for local transportation workers. One person in the transportation business expressed concerns about competition.
"I'm in the transportation business too, so that would probably put me out of business if everybody had that," says Don Frazier.
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