Waymo plans to test Robotaxie in New York with supervision

Waymo announced the plans on Wednesday to bring its autonomous cars to the streets of New York From next monthBut in a change compared to its Robotaxi service in other states, the company said that it was planning to have a person behind the steering wheel to respect local regulations.

Waymo needs a license To operate your robotaxis even with supervision, under the guidelines Mayor Eric Adams announced last year. Waymo said on Wednesday that he had asked for the permit with the city’s transport service and, in the meantime, would begin to drive manually in the city.

Waymo, a Google spin-off, also said that it wanted to change the law of the state in New York to allow a human-free vehicle driving, because Waymo is now working in cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. New York law obliges at least A hand on the steering wheel For any vehicle in operation.

The mayor’s office said in a statement that the New York Transport Department examined Waymo’s request.

“As we have said, New York leads the nation to responsible innovation, and our program of autonomous vehicles is no different. Public security is our first priority, which is why we have solid guards and requirements in place on all kinds of autonomous vehicles to ensure that we obtain AV technology,” said the mayor’s office.

Waymo is the first autonomous vehicle technology company to request such a permit, said the mayor’s office.

The company said that it was not ready to extend to New York City as it extends to other cities this year like Atlanta And MiamiBut that he wants to do it one day.

“This is not an expansion, but we have the intention of providing our entirely autonomous service to the city in the future,” said Waymo in a press release.

Waymo’s intention to have a visible presence in New York, the largest city in the country, arrives at a crucial moment for Robotaxie, with the Trump administration loosen certain regulations And Tesla d’Elon Musk Planning to start a Robotaxi service In Austin, Texas, in the coming days.

Autonomous vehicle technology has met with vocal opposition in New York And elsewhere From the workforce organized by concern, this could eliminate work for thousands of drivers, not only for those who drive taxis, but ultimately for others, including truck drivers.