The Adams administration announced Friday it has approved driverless-taxi firm Waymo’s application to test autonomous vehicles in Gotham — but the robotaxis won’t be picking up passengers anytime soon.
“We’re a tech-friendly administration and we’re always looking for innovative ways to safely move our city forward,” Mayor Adams said in a statement announcing that the firm — a subsidiary of tech behemoth Alphabet, Google’s parent company — could begin testing so-called “self-driving” features under limited circumstances with a human in the drivers’ seat.
As previously reported by the Daily News, Waymo began lobbying in June for New York to allow fully autonomous robotaxis on city streets, a move that is currently prohibited by state law.
In July, the company began running its vehicles — identifiable by their spinning, roof-mounted sensor system — along city streets, but always with a human in full control.
Now, less than two months later, the city’s Transportation Department has approved Waymo’s plans to let computers begin to take the wheel.
“As autonomous vehicle technology expands across the country, DOT has put in place comprehensive safety guidelines to ensure safe, responsible testing on our city’s streets,” city Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement. “These requirements will help ensure that the development of this technology is focused, first and foremost, on the safety of everyone who shares our busy city streets.”
The DOT rules will still require a human in the driver seat, able to intervene if needed. But Waymo can now enable so-called “self-driving” features on a limited number of cars in certain parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.
New York State law continues to prohibit fully autonomous operation without a human driver in the car, thus forbidding the kind of driverless service Waymo provides in San Francisco and elsewhere. Waymo has been lobbying to change that law: An effort to allow driverless vehicle operation is currently before the Transportation Committee of the State Senate, but has stalled out in the Assembly.
“Waymo’s been stopped in Albany, so they’re trying to legitimize themselves,” Bhairavi Desai, head of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, told The News Friday.
Describing Friday’s announcement as “more about political favor and less about consumer appetite,” the taxi advocate questioned the demand for driverless cars in a city she said is known for “vibrant human interaction.”
“If you don’t want to be around people, there’s plenty of other places to live around the country,” Desai told the Daily News. “Does New York really need a driverless car to feel advanced?”
The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission currently prohibits any self-driving features in for-hire service, and any car picking up passengers in the city is required by law to have TLC licensing and approval. No Waymo cars have applied for or been issued TLC plates, officials said.
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