Two U.S. cities weigh letting trains run without a human operator on board

Two major U.S. cities are seeking to let trains run without a human at the controls, even as automated vehicles such as robotaxis become more common across the country. Officials in Washington, D.C., recently advanced a plan that could let computers fully control a train. Almost every mass transit system in the United States still requires a driver or operator on board, and the two cities' efforts would change that arrangement. Transit systems are now weighing whether to adopt fully automated operation.

Left-leaning outlets tracked by Crosswire had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and alternative/independent outlets had. On the right, Newsmax runs the headline "Some US Transit Systems Consider Driverless Trains," a plain statement of the topic. The Washington Times poses it as a question, asking about trains without humans at the controls and saying systems "weigh their options." Both open with the same framing: robotaxis are spreading, nearly all transit still needs an on-board operator, and two big cities want to change that. Their excerpts include no named officials, quotes, figures beyond "two," or comment from transit workers or safety groups, and the second city is not identified. The alternative/independent outlet, AP, uses nearly identical wording and adds only the Washington detail, so it does not differ meaningfully from the right. With no left-leaning coverage available, there is no left-versus-right disagreement to report; the available coverage centers on the idea of driverless trains rather than on any dispute.