They were Lyft drivers. Now they're cleaning Waymos.
Former Lyft drivers in Nashville are transitioning into new roles as maintenance and cleaning staff for Waymo's robotaxi fleet. This shift highlights how automation is transforming the gig economy by replacing driving jobs with technical support and fleet management roles.
Why it matters
It provides a real-world example of how AI and autonomous vehicle technology are reshaping the labor market for service workers.
Chauncey Thompson (foreground) inspects a Waymo at the company's Nashville depot. Lyft Former Lyft drivers are ceding the roads to robots, and helping the machines get five-star ratings. In Nashville, Lyft's Flexdrive subsidiary plans to open its largest vehicle cleaning and maintenance depot yet in October — to service Waymo robotaxis . The 80,000-square-foot facility will employ about 70 full-time workers, about half of whom formerly drove for Lyft. The situation offers an early glimpse at what AI may mean for millions of workers : eliminating some jobs while creating new work around the machines taking over. Jonathan Baines drove for Lyft for about a decade to help support himself while pursuing a career as a pop and soul singer-songwriter.
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