Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo has applied for a permit to test its robotaxis in New York City, underscoring its intent to operate in one of the largest ride-hailing markets in the US despite an absence of local regulations supporting commercially operated autonomous vehicles.
The company has applied for a permit with the city’s Department of Transportation to operate its vehicles autonomously in Manhattan with a trained human specialist supervising behind the wheel, spokesperson Ethan Teicher said in a statement Wednesday. Shares in rival ride-hailing providers Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. slid on the news.
Regardless of the permit outcome, Waymo plans to have a human driver manually operate its cars in New York to collect data and evaluate its technology starting next month, he said, similar to a mapping project it carried out in the city in 2021.
Waymo currently offers fully autonomous, paid rides in Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix and San Francisco, plus other parts of that region. It will also offer those trips through Uber’s platform in Atlanta later this summer, with Miami and Washington to come next year.
But Waymo won’t be launching a comparable commercial service in New York soon, due to a prohibitive regulatory environment. The city identifies itself as “some of the most challenging urban street environments for an AV to navigate,” according to the Department of Transportation’s permitting website, and does not currently offer a permit for fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing services. New York state law doesn’t allow for such services either.
The city’s stringent regulations also extend to human-operated taxi and rideshare services. Companies like Uber and Lyft have persistently sparred with a strong union of taxi medallion owners and drivers, and they’ve challenged regulations like for-hire vehicle caps and minimum wage requirements for drivers.
Waymo is seeking regulatory changes in New York, particularly the ability under state law to operate a vehicle with no human behind the wheel.
“We’re hopeful New York can enact regulatory changes that would allow us to bring our service to the city and state in the future, and we continue to have positive conversations with local and state elected officials, regulators and community organizations,” the spokesperson said.
