• Waymo One's robotaxis could threaten Uber and Lyft drivers' earnings if they get access to airports.
• Airport rides are among the most profitable trips for human drivers.
• Waymo One is offering airport trips in Phoenix and is awaiting approval in other markets.

If Waymo One's robotaxis continue expanding to airports, human ride-hailing drivers could see their incomes take a big hit.

Airport trips are "incredibly important" for ride-hailing drivers, particularly those who work near cities with major airports, said Lindsey Cameron, an assistant professor of management — whose research focuses on AI and gig work — at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She added that airport pickups can be especially profitable because those rides often have higher fares, which are driven by strong customer demand.

"Those are the most lucrative rides," she said. "You've got a captive audience who wants to go home, and so they're willing to pay."

Many Uber and Lyft drivers have told BI their gigs are already less profitable than they were a few years ago — due, in part, to an increase in competition from both human and robot drivers. The threat of robotaxis further chipping away at their business has put some of them on edge.

Nicole Moore, a part-time Lyft driver and the president of the driver advocacy group Rideshare Drivers United, said that in the last couple of weeks, she's seen a significant uptick in concern from LA-based drivers about the impacts of robotaxis on their earnings. In November, Waymo One began offering rides to anyone in Los Angeles after previously operating a limited service with a waitlist.

"You put more drivers on the street — whether they're robot drivers or people — everybody makes less money," she said, adding, "We're thankful they're not in the airport yet."

Waymo One, which is owned by Alphabet, is the only company operating autonomous vehicles at US airports, Waymo told BI. It's also the biggest autonomous taxi service in the US: In October, the company said it was providing more than 150,000 weekly paid rides in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Additionally, the company announced this fall it will offer rides to the public in the Atlanta and Austin markets early next year and in Miami in 2026.

While Waymo One airport trips are available in Phoenix —and the company has approval to begin pilot testing at the Austin airport — robotaxis are still restricted from airports in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In these cities, approval for airport rides would come from groups that oversee the airports' operations.

The experts BI spoke to said it's unclear if and when robotaxis will receive widespread approval for airport trips in the markets they're operating.

Spokespeople for Los Angeles World Airports and the Airport Commission for San Francisco International Airport told BI there is no estimated timeline for when Waymo One will receive approval, but the groups are monitoring the robotaxi's progress.

The LAWA spokesperson said the airport can experience significant curbside congestion and that for driverless taxis to gain airport approval, they would need to operate safely and efficiently and not impact the airport's current commercial and private vehicle operations. The Airport Commission spokesperson said driverless taxis would need to demonstrate the ability to operate on freeways and in communities near the airport and ensure they could safely meet the needs of customers.

Waymo is pushing for airport expansion in the US

Waymo told BI that it's providing thousands of trips each week to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the most popular destination for its riders in the city. The company also said it's in active discussions with San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport about expanding its fleet to these airports, but didn't give BI a timeline for when it expects to receive approvals.

The company added that it was granted approval to provide robotaxi trips on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, but that it hasn't begun offering those rides to the public yet: Access to these trips is currently limited to Waymo's employees in San Francisco and Phoenix.

A spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport told BI that the airport would monitor Waymo One's pilot testing before deciding whether to approve airport pickups.

Uber did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment, and Lyft said that its drivers have generally earned more on airport trips than on non-airport trips.

It's not just drivers who are feeling the pinch from Waymo One's expansions. GM announced on December 11 that it was retreating from the robotaxi business "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market."

Meanwhile, on December 5, shares of Uber and Lyft traded lower after Waymo announced it was expanding to Miami.

To be sure, Waymo isn't the only company rolling out robotaxis: Tesla and the Amazon-owned Zoox are also developing their own versions of a robotaxi.

Airport trips are some drivers' 'bread and butter'

Moore said that airport trips aren't as profitable for drivers as they used to be, but that they remain important.

"They have been our bread and butter for many, many years," she said.

Jason D., a 50-year-old driver in Phoenix, told BI he does more airport trips than any other type of ride — in part because he drives an Uber XL vehicle that has the space for luggage and multiple passengers. He said competing with Waymo One at airports and elsewhere has hurt his earnings.

"Driverless taxis are flooding an already competitive Phoenix market and taking money from human drivers," Jason D, who drives full-time for Uber and asked that his last name not be included for fear of professional repercussions, previously told BI. He added that Waymo One's cars also contribute to significant congestion at the airport because they don't know how to follow traffic officers' hand and voice commands.

Sergio Avedian, a part-time Uber and Lyft driver based in the Los Angeles area and senior contributor to the gig-driver-advocacy blog and YouTube channel The Rideshare Guy, told BI that airport drop-offs tend to be quick, pay relatively well, and often come with a tip.

In comparison, doing airport pickups can require drivers at major airports to wait in designated lots until a passenger books a ride. Avedian said this process can be frustrating, but that airport pickups often pay better than drop-offs because the fares are higher — which is why some drivers think they're worth the wait.

"You have a chance of maybe catching a 'unicorn,'" he said, referring to the highest-paying trips. He added that many airport riders are business travelers who can expense their trips and are therefore less likely to balk at a high fare or not tip.

While robotaxis are already operating in the LA market, Avedian isn't overly concerned about robotaxis impact on drivers' earnings in the short term. But he knows the clock is ticking.

"Long-term, definitely it's going to be a threat, and that's why we suggest everybody not treat Uber and Lyft driving as a career," he previously told BI.

If more airports approve robotaxis, Moore said she hopes riders will value the customer service humans provide.

"Customers often expect you to put their luggage in the trunk — is the robotaxi going to do that?"

We want to hear from you. Do you work in the gig economy? Please fill out this form.

Correction: December 13, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the number of weekly paid rides Waymo provided. It was more than 150,000, not 100,000.

FIRST ON FOX: Austin, Texas, police officers past and present are speaking out against the county’s progressive district attorney after a fellow officer was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for what they say was a case of him performing his job the right way. 

Austin police officer Christopher Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of deadly conduct, after originally being charged with murder in the shooting death of 46-year-old Mauris DeSilva in 2019. 

DeSilva was in the midst of a mental health episode, walking around an apartment complex, threatening to harm himself and holding a knife to his throat, when he failed to drop the knife after being instructed by officers to do so.

Fox News Digital spoke to several members of the law enforcement community in Austin who say that Taylor’s prosecution represents a malicious targeting of police officers on the part of the county’s progressive district attorney, Jose Garza. 

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"The weaponization of our Justice System by Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has taken away the life of Officer Chris Taylor today," Austin police officer Justin Berry told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

"Chris knew that by wearing the badge of a police officer he may be called to make the ultimate sacrifice in the service and protection of another officer or his community. I do not believe he, nor his family, ever thought his life would be taken by a malicious District Attorney with a spiteful agenda against a police officer trying to protect himself and others. I have spoken with Law Enforcement leaders from around Texas and we all stand behind Officer Chris Taylor and the other maliciously persecuted officers against the ongoing weaponization of the justice system for rogue District Attorneys to abuse with impunity."

Garza has long faced criticism from law enforcement in Austin for an alleged "war on cops" after the Soros-backed district attorney campaigned on indicting police officers and "reimagining" policing in Austin. Soros contributed $652,000 to the Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC in the months leading up to the 2020 Travis County DA election, according to campaign finance records. That same PAC spent almost $1 million on digital and mail advertisements to help Garza’s campaign.

Berry, who was one of over a dozen police officers indicted by Garza for their role in quelling Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, told Fox News Digital that Taylor’s situation "highlights the historic abuse of office by Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza to further his personal war against the men and women of the Austin Police Department."

"Today Garza sent a clear message that police officers in Travis County, Texas are prohibited from defending themselves and others (to include members of this very community)," Berry told Fox News Digital. "When an armed subject charges at an officer to harm or kill that officer, every police officer has always been trained and taught they are legally justified in defending themselves or others from serious bodily injury or death. Today that is no longer the case in Austin, Texas. Jose Garza has set the policy that no police officer should respond to ANY call involving anyone in a mental health crisis, especially if they are armed with a weapon."

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A second Austin police officer, who was granted anonymity in order to speak freely, called Tuesday a "sad" and "dark day" for Austin.

"No one wants to go to these mental health calls anymore and, if we do go, there will be some hesitation," the officer said. "This conviction will cause people to get hurt when they otherwise wouldn’t have.

"We’re all heart broken for Chris and his family. Chris showed up, answered the call, utilized sound tactics and decision-making, and is now looking at a two-year prison sentence. We haven’t gotten any meaningful guidance because — what do you change when Chris did it the right way?"

AUSTIN'S SOROS-BACKED DA BLASTED AFTER MAN CHARGED WITH 7TH DUI, KILLING 2 PEOPLE RELEASED ON BOND

The officers who spoke with Fox News Digital maintain that Taylor followed his training, which was backed up by testimony in Taylor’s defense from former Austin police chief Brian Manley and former Austin assistant city manager Bruce Mills. Additionally, an internal police department review of the incident concluded Taylor followed protocol, and he was allowed to return to work.

The prosecution argued that Taylor, believed to be the first police officer in Travis County to be convicted for use of force, could have defused the situation without deadly force and that DeSilva was not a threat at the time deadly force was used. 

"We lost him because of your ignorance," DeSilva’s father said in court. "You were reckless. You know very well that he was not a danger to you, Mr. Taylor, or anyone else. I have no idea why you decided to shoot him."

Dennis Farris, president of Austin Police Retired Officers Association, pointed Fox News Digital to evidence in the trial that DeSilva had meth in his system, a blood alcohol level of over .20 and testimony that DeSilva was moving toward the officers armed with a knife from a short distance away. 

"We as a society cannot expect police officers to go out every day and protect us while they worry if they will be indicted by some elected DA who decides what they did was criminal," Farris told Fox News Digital. "Chris Taylor followed the law and his training in dealing with this situation and somehow the prosecutors convinced a jury that it was unlawful."

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"This verdict and sentence are absolutely a miscarriage of justice by a DA who is targeting police officers for doing their job and letting real criminals off with little or no punishment," he said.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) said Garza has "set out on a mission and has engaged in the political persecution of nearly 30 brave law enforcement officers across this county."

"Officer Taylor followed his training and written procedures and acted exactly as any reasonable officer would have," the statement from CLEAT said. "That was made clear by several witnesses to include the former Chief of Police of the Austin Police Department. Countless experts in use of force and police procedures testified that his actions were justified and well within nationally recognized training standards and protocols. On behalf of our organization and its 28,000 members, we stand by Officer Taylor, his family, and the members of the Austin Police Department."

When contacted by Fox News Digital regarding the concerns from law enforcement, Garza’s office responded with a statement saying, "In this case, Mr. Taylor was convicted by a Travis County jury and sentenced by a Travis County Judge."

"We are grateful for our devoted team who worked diligently to ensure accountability for the defendant and to seek justice for the victim and their family," Garza’s office said in a statement Tuesday night, KVUE-TV reported. "We truly hope this outcome brings comfort and support to the DeSilva family as they continue their healing journey."

Garza's office had previously charged Taylor with murder in an unrelated case shortly after taking office in 2020. That case ended in a mistrial in November of last year, and his office has said that case will not be brought again.

Roughly half a dozen police officers are currently facing charges in Travis County and Berry told Fox News Digital that the families of those officers are in dire need of support. 

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"Chris is not the only officer under Garza’s hit list, there are many other Austin Police Officers awaiting their sham trials in this political miscarriage of justice," Berry said. "These officers and their families have had their entire lives ripped from them and are left waiting for their trial date to have Jose Garza take his shot at ending their lives too. Enough is enough with this abuse of power and miscarriage of justice. These officers and their families also need our support in what seems like a hopeless time for them."

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock, in a statement posted on X, wrote that he believes Garza is playing "political games."

"Throughout this trial they have ignored and tried to discredit their own experts, claimed to be tactical experts, gone after other officers who were called in to testify, and made every attempt to vilify the Austin Police Department," Bullock wrote. "Tonight, Dexter Gilford from the DA’s office went as far as saying the DA’s office knows more about tactics than the officers who actually face these realities every day.

"This District Attorney has given sweetheart plea deals to rapists and violent criminals; while ignoring victims, he has spent untold amounts of taxpayer money to repeatedly go after Detective Taylor who was put in an impossible situation and forced to defend himself and others against someone high on meth and armed with a knife. No matter how much Garza will try to convince people otherwise, he is actively making our city more dangerous by freeing criminals and targeting cops."

• A 30-foot furnace's door at Tesla's Austin factory was stuck open for months, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• Ex-employees said the fault allowed pollutants to escape and raised the temperature as high as 100 degrees.
• Elon Musk's companies have recently come under growing scrutiny over environmental violations.

Workers at Tesla's Austin factory were said to have faced temperatures as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit and a "constant haze" because the door of a 30-foot furnace would not close properly, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night.

Unnamed former employees at the Texas plant told the newspaper that the door was faulty for months while Elon Musk's automaker ramped up production of the Model Y SUV in 2022.

In a memo sent to the Environmental Protection Agency this year and viewed by the Journal, a whistleblower said Tesla used an "elaborate ruse" to conceal the issue from regulators.

The memo reportedly said Tesla adjusted the amount of fuel going into the furnace, which melts aluminum used to make car parts, and temporarily closed the door.

The tactic appeared to help Tesla pass emissions tests carried out by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, according to the memo seen by the Journal.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from the outlet and did not immediately respond to one from Business Insider.

It's not the first time Elon Musk's companies have faced scrutiny for their environmental impact.

SpaceX was fined almost $150,000 in September for dumping wastewater into wetlands near its Texas launch site in 2022. Tesla paid $1.5 million in February to settle a lawsuit accusing it of mishandling hazardous waste at its factories in California.

In its Sunday report, the Journal mentioned findings that Tesla had also dumped wastewater filled with toxins from its Austin plant into the local sewage system.

Staff who raised warnings about environmental violations at the Austin plant were ignored and feared they could be fired, former workers told The Journal.

One worker reportedly said in the memo sent to the EPA that Tesla had "repeatedly asked me to lie to the government" so the company could operate without paying for proper environmental controls.