The California Gig Workers Union — a union representing Uber and Lyft drivers — filed a formal complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on March 17, demanding that Waymo’s operating permit in California be suspended. The union alleges the company is knowingly violating the terms of its permit by allowing unaccompanied minors to ride in its vehicles across the Bay Area.
The complaint asks the CPUC to determine whether violations are occurring, whether Waymo has taken steps to prevent them — and to impose sanctions up to and including revocation of the company’s commercial operating license.
One Set of Rules — for Everyone
Uber and Lyft driver Hector Castellanos, who backed the complaint, put the issue bluntly: if he picks up a minor without an adult, his account gets deactivated. If an accident happens with a child in his car, the consequences are serious. Castellanos believes Waymo should operate under the same rules as human drivers.
Waymo’s own policies prohibit unaccompanied minors from riding. The company’s website states it plainly: children cannot get in a vehicle without an adult. The only exception is teen accounts for riders aged 14–17, linked to a parent’s account. But that service is available only in Phoenix. In California, it doesn’t exist — under the terms of Waymo’s CPUC permit, transporting unaccompanied minors in autonomous taxis is prohibited.
Parents Know. So Does Waymo
The problem isn’t new. Parents in San Francisco have been using Waymo to shuttle their teenagers since at least 2024. It’s an open secret — covered by the San Francisco Chronicle, KTVU, and SFist. Mothers in North Beach and Presidio Heights told reporters they regularly hail Waymo for their teenage daughters. One admitted her 14-year-old rides a robotaxi roughly once a week — and among her friends, it’s standard practice.
Waymo is aware. Company attorney Jack Stoddard acknowledged at a recent CPUC hearing that Waymo knows parents use the service to transport their children. According to him, those parents are violating the terms of service and risk account suspension. In practice, mass deactivations have not happened.
Parents Trust Robots Over Humans
A survey of parents at Washington Square Park in San Francisco revealed a telling pattern. None of them supported the idea of sending a child alone in a regular Uber or Lyft. But a driverless car was a different story.
Arienne Barrow of San Francisco told ABC7: you can’t trust anyone these days, there are too many stories of bad incidents in Ubers. She would choose Waymo any day. Another parent added: if the choice is between a random driver and AI, he’d pick AI.
What Stands in the Way of Legalization
The CPUC is currently drafting new regulations for autonomous vehicles. The question of teen passengers is one of the items under discussion. But progress is slow. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority submitted comments to the regulator back in October recommending the ban stay in place — arguing that the driverless industry is still in its early stages.
Waymo itself is interested in expanding to teen riders. A company spokesperson has said families show significant interest, and Waymo is working to make the service available where possible. But until permission is granted — under both the CPUC permit and Waymo’s own terms of service — every ride taken by an unaccompanied child in California remains a violation.
A recent incident complicates the picture: last month, a Waymo vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation. A single case like that is enough to freeze any discussion about allowing children to use the service.
Waymo completes 400,000 rides per week across all U.S. markets — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, and Miami. In the Bay Area, the white Jaguar I-Pace vehicles have long become part of the landscape. The drivers’ union wants the regulator to force the company to follow its own rules. Parents want the rules changed. The CPUC has not commented on the complaint. The commission is in the process of developing new regulations for the entire autonomous transportation industry in California — and the decision on minors could set a precedent for every robotaxi operator in the state.