Driverless Vehicles Raise Serious Concerns

Recent incidents involving autonomous vehicles have raised new questions about how driverless technology interacts with the transportation systems our members operate every day.

In a widely circulated video from Austin, Texas, a Waymo driverless taxi stopped dangerously close to an active railroad crossing as a train passed within inches of the vehicle. Fortunately, the car had no passengers and no collision occurred. But the situation highlights how even advanced autonomous systems can misinterpret complex transportation environments.

This isn’t an isolated concern. Investigations and driver reports have also raised alarms about Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software struggling at railroad crossings. In one viral incident, a Tesla operating with the system drove directly through lowered crossing gates, and multiple drivers have reported their vehicles failing to recognize flashing lights, barriers, or approaching trains.

For the members of the SMART Transportation Division, these incidents are not just tech glitches. They are real-world safety risks.

Impact on Bus Members

In cities where robotaxis are being deployed, bus operators are already dealing with new challenges. Driverless vehicles operating in dense urban traffic can behave unpredictably, creating additional hazards for professional drivers responsible for moving dozens of passengers safely through crowded streets.

At the same time, these same autonomous services are being positioned as competitors in the public transportation space, potentially replacing union jobs that have long provided safe, reliable mobility for communities.

A New Concern for Rail Members

Rail members face a new and different problem. What happens when these vehicles encounter railroad crossings?

Professional train crews know that when something goes wrong at a crossing, the consequences can be life changing. Engineers and conductors cannot stop a train quickly and when a vehicle enters a crossing improperly, the crew may be forced to witness a catastrophic event they have little ability to prevent.

Reports of autonomous vehicles stopping on tracks, ignoring crossing arms, or misinterpreting rail infrastructure raise serious questions about whether this technology is ready to share the roadway with trains. We already know the answer to how they are adding a dangerous layer to the jobs of our bus operators. 

For rail workers, a collision involving a driverless car is not just a headline. It’s a critical incident that affects their safety, their careers, and their mental health for years to come.

Technology Must Work for Safety and Workers

SMART-TD is not opposed to technology or innovation. Our industry has always evolved with new tools and systems that improve efficiency and safety.

But technology must make transportation safer, not introduce new and unpredictable hazards for workers and the public.

Autonomous vehicles are being deployed rapidly on public roads and near critical infrastructure like rail crossings. Before that expansion continues, regulators and technology companies must ensure these systems can reliably understand and safely interact with the complex transportation environments that union bus operators and rail crews navigate every day.

Our members already carry enormous responsibility for public safety. The last thing they should have to worry about is whether we’ll carry the trauma of hurting or killing people so that Waymo and Tesla executives can continue their race to see who can deploy their unsafe products on the road the fastest.

Automation and the Threat to Union Jobs

Beyond the immediate safety concerns, driverless technology also raises a larger question for the future of transportation work. If companies can normalize the idea that taxis and personal vehicles no longer need drivers, how long will it be before they argue that buses no longer need operators either?

Public transit systems depend on highly trained professional operators who do far more than steer a vehicle. They manage passenger safety, respond to emergencies, assist riders with disabilities, and navigate constantly changing traffic conditions. Replacing that human expertise with automation would not only put good union jobs at risk; it would also put passengers and the public in serious danger.

Rail members are not immune from these pressures either. In Georgia, Genesee & Wyoming Railroad has been working with a company (Parallel Systems) founded by former SpaceX engineers to test autonomous railcar technology. They recently announced they are jumping from phase 2 of the testing process the FRA agreed to, all the way to Phase 5. This problem is not science fiction anymore. It is all too real.

While these projects are often promoted as cutting-edge innovation, they raise serious questions about whether the true goal is improving safety or simply removing skilled workers from the equation.

Operating trains and buses safely requires judgment, experience, and accountability that no algorithm can replicate. Our members understand the real-world complexities of transportation in a way that technology companies and the venture capital backing them overlooks.

SMART-TD will continue to stand up for the workers who keep our transportation systems running safely and reliably every day. Innovation should strengthen safety and support the workforce, not eliminate the professionals who make the system work and keep our communities safe.