Mayor Lurie Allows Waymo on SF’s Car-Free Market Street

Fewer buses and Waymo cars — that’s the plan for San Francisco’s Market Street, coming this summer.

On Thursday, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that the autonomous vehicle company would begin operating on the city’s main downtown thoroughfare, which has been car-free for five years, as part of his ongoing revitalization efforts there. But transit and pedestrian advocates say the move will hurt downtown, upending progress made to Muni services and pedestrian and bike safety on the road.

“Undoing those successes, the result of two decades of work by city agencies, elected officials, and advocates, moves San Francisco in the wrong direction,” SF Transit Riders, WalkSF, SF Bicycle Coalition and Kid Safe SF said in a joint statement. “It is a step backward to a chaotic, dangerous Market Street that serves no one’s purposes, including businesses.”

Since taking office, Lurie has been focused on reviving the city’s vacancy-riddled downtown. He’s increased police presence around Union Square, launched monthly “First Thursdays” block parties on Second Street and most recently, announced that a nonprofit formed by some of his high-powered supporters will raise private funds to beautify the neighborhood.

“By welcoming Waymo, we’re adding another safe and sustainable way to access shopping, theaters, hotels and restaurants,” Lurie said in a statement. “This is about revitalizing downtown and making it easier for everyone, locals and visitors alike, to enjoy everything our city has to offer.”

Waymo — which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet — plans to begin mapping the street in the coming days and driving passengers up and down Market as soon as this summer, according to Lurie’s office. The announcement comes on the heels of a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors vote last week to reduce services on five routes that traverse the road in the face of the agency’s massive budget deficit, which could top more than $300 million by 2026.

Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA’s Director of Transportation, said the agency will work with Lurie and Waymo to ensure that all transportation operations move “safely, reliably and efficiently” along the corridor. However, public transit advocates say that prioritizing privately owned vehicles on public roadways will stunt Muni’s post-pandemic rebound and compound disruptions as the city cuts bus services.

Muni ridership dropped by nearly 90% between February and April 2020 but has hit its highest numbers over the past year.

“Transit riders will now not only need to deal with increased transfers and delays brought on by upcoming service cuts, but also the delays and hazards caused by a fleet of new Waymo vehicles flooding Market Street,” SF Transit Riders community and policy manager Dylan Fabris said in a statement.

Since banning cars, Muni buses and streetcars have been able to increase speed and efficiency by 14% along Market Street, Fabrissaid. Last year, ridership reached 75% of pre-pandemic numbers and appears on track to continue increasing.

It’s unclear if the move is a first step toward allowing more vehicles back onto the road since, technically, Waymo has already been permitted to operate in much of the corridor under the SFMTA traffic regulations adopted at the inception of the car ban.

Unlike Uber and Lyft, the self-driving cars are considered commercial vehicles. Waymo confirmed that until now, it has voluntarily refrained from operating on Market Street despite being legally allowed to do so.

Still, advocates urged Lurie to rescind the decision and instead focus on increasing business and foot traffic in the downtown sector.

“If we want Market Street to reclaim its rightful place as a commercial and cultural destination, it should be safe and welcoming to people,” SFBike’s Executive Director Christopher White said. “Prioritizing safe, affordable ways of traveling, like walking, biking and transit, achieves that aim. Handing the street over to a single private company flies in the face of San Francisco’s values and goals.”

KQED’s Dan Brekke contributed to this report.