Hector Rivera, 59, drives for Uber and Lyft in Tampa and calls it his main source of income. He upgraded his car to a Lincoln Navigator so he could qualify for Premier rides, which carry higher fares and better driver pay, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Now driverless cars from Waymo and Tesla are picking up passengers in the same city.

"It's one less trip that I can pick up," Rivera said. "We're putting more cars to compete on the streets but gas isn't going down, a gallon of milk isn't going down. These autonomous cars don't support a household."

Rivera started driving after the pandemic and also serves some private clients. He said the real challenge will come when driverless cars can take rides to and from Tampa International Airport. Waymo is still negotiating with the airport for access to its roadways, airport spokesperson Joshua Gillin told the Times. There is no timeline for that service. Tesla has not contacted the airport about expanding there, Gillin said.

Waymo launched its Tampa service in September after months of mapping city streets. Tesla's driverless cars began operating in Tampa in July, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Waymo accepts rides across about 50 square miles of the city, including Ybor City, Hyde Park, East Tampa, Water Street and the West Shore district.

Rivera is not alone in depending on gig driving to pay bills. A May 2025 survey of 419 U.S. gig drivers by the payroll platform Everee found that 59% rely on gig work for at least half their income. Two-thirds said their main reason for driving is to cover day-to-day bills. Only 28% reported building any emergency savings, according to the report.

That financial pressure is showing up across the Tampa Bay area. In St. Petersburg, delivery courier William Kilgore has worked for Uber Eats and DoorDash for five years, completing more than 10,000 deliveries on his bike. He told WTSP that he earns $2 per Uber Eats delivery and receives about three-fourths of his income from tips.

"It's stressing me out," Kilgore said, after learning St. Petersburg City Council members had approved sending the topic of autonomous food delivery robots to a committee.

Tampa drivers say the competition is compounding existing frustrations with lower pay and rising gas prices. David Stellar, who has driven for Uber more than four years, said driverless vehicles will eventually dominate shorter rides close to the city center.

"It eliminates your leverage and eventually that leverage becomes you only taking rides where Waymo can't go or Waymo can't handle," Stellar told the Times.

Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher told the Times in a statement that drivers who want to keep taking rides will have the opportunity to do so. The company also said some drivers could transition into careers supporting autonomous vehicle fleets.

That shift is already happening elsewhere. In Nashville, Waymo and Lyft opened an 80,000-square-foot depot to maintain and charge self-driving cars, WSMV reported. The facility is bringing more than 70 full-time positions, and Lyft is staffing it with dozens of former rideshare drivers. Business Insider reported about half of the workers formerly drove for Lyft.

But Alexander Alonso, chief knowledge officer at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), told Business Insider the new jobs are not keeping pace.

"We're not seeing a one-for-one replacement," Alonso said. SHRM estimates about 8 million U.S. jobs are realistically at risk of displacement by AI and automation by 2030, after accounting for consumer preferences and regulations.

Waymo has also expressed interest in Pinellas County. WUSF reported in August that the company arranged an introductory meeting with St. Petersburg transportation officials, but had not announced plans to launch passenger service in the county.

Florida law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019, allows autonomous vehicles to operate without a driver as long as they carry at least $1 million in insurance coverage, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Cities have no regulatory oversight over the companies.

Waymo's Tampa service area covers neighborhoods including Ybor City and Hyde Park but does not yet reach the airport or extend into Pinellas County for passenger service.