COTA union warns of driverless buses

“We’re not against technology, but we don’t want (drivers) to be removed.”

Unionized Central Ohio Transit Authority drivers passed out flyers during Wednesday’s afternoon rush hour warning riders about driverless buses, with the flyers depicting a bus fully ablaze on a freeway.

“Riders Beware: Don’t Risk Your Safety On A Driverless Bus,” the flyers said.

“Bus Drivers Keep You Safe,” they said, adding that driverless vehicles should still have operators on board. They ask riders to call Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther to weigh in.

“We’re doing this now to get the public understanding exactly about the safety aspect of it,” said Andrew Jordan, president of Transport Workers Union Local 208, which represents 872 COTA employees, including about 670 drivers.

Jordan said the union fears job losses too. “We’re not against technology,” Jordan said, “but we don’t want (drivers) to be removed.”

The union cited a March 18 accident in Tempe, Arizona, in which a self-driving Uber car struck and killed a pedestrian. A back-up driver was in the vehicle at the time. Unionized COTA workers, including Andrew Jordan, President of Transportation Workers Local 208, passed out flyers near the COTA station on Spring Street in downtown Columbus on Wednesday warning people about driverless buses.

Jordan testified before an Ohio House committee in December in a hearing on self-driving vehicles, although no legislation on the issue is pending.

The union is worried because the city and region are involved in Smart Columbus, a partnership

of businesses, local governments and research groups exploring new transportation technology.

COTA has no immediate plan to use autonomous buses, authority spokesman Marty Stutz said.

“We’re interested in the future of public transit and Andrew Jordan, president of Transport Workers Union Local 208

technologies,” Stutz said. “We’re also committed to great jobs — wellpaying jobs — for all of our employees.”

The $50 million in Columbus’ Smart City Challenge grant portfolio calls for a pilot project: a self-driving shuttle bus with an operator ferrying people from COTA’s Morse Road transit center to the Easton area in 2020, said Brandi Braun, deputy innovation officer for the city of Columbus.

“We’re learning about these new technologies,” she said.

On Wednesday, Dante Crumbley, 27, was waiting Downtown for the No. 51 express to take him home to Reynoldsburg. Asked about autonomous buses, Crumbley said: “I think buses need drivers. Everything needs a driver.”