Google LLC’s autonomous vehicle firm Waymo announced today that it’s about to send part of its legion of robotaxis to the Big Apple, albeit with human drivers at the wheel.
The move is part of a fairly rapid expansion for the company, whose robotaxis have already graced the streets of San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin, with plans also on the way for Miami, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
“Waymo has had a longstanding relationship with New York City, where we have previously manually driven and tested for winter weather,” said Michelle Peacock, global head of public policy at Waymo.
Last year, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to allow driverless vehicles to operate with a permit he’d helped develop, but only with a safety driver. This would at least give companies an opportunity to test their vehicles.
“As we have said, New York City leads the nation in responsible innovation, and our autonomous vehicle program is no different,” the Mayor’s office said in a press release. “Public safety is our first priority, which is why we have strong guardrails and requirements in place on any sort of autonomous vehicles to ensure that we get AV technology right.”
This comes soon after the Trump administration said it was easing the rules on safety so self-driving car firms could get their cars on the road. Self-driving cars are considered relatively safe, although in the past there have been plenty of incidents when humans shouldn’t have allowed the vehicle to be driven by its computer. Waymo itself has experienced some issues, but as yet, nothing too serious.
In New York, the opposition to robotaxis may not come from concerned citizens but from the city’s famed cab drivers. Unions have expressed concern over the loss of jobs to robotaxis in the U.S., while during a data collection trip to New York in 2023, there was vocal opposition to the company’s presence. A number of Waymo’s vehicles were destroyed in LA recently during protests, partly, it seems, as a response to the threat of job losses.
“This technology is coming whether we like it or not,” Mayor Adams said, words that haven’t sat well with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
Image: Freepick/AI
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