The camera-topped white Jaguars will spend the coming months collecting driving data while Waymo awaits a permit from the city to start transporting passengers. The initiative comes four years after the company conducted a preliminary round of testing in its first foray into the city.
Even if the permit is approved, state law would require a licensed driver to monitor the vehicle from behind the wheel in case its self-driving technology fails. But Waymo is pushing for a tweak that would allow it to operate the fully autonomous rides that have gained popularity elsewhere — and the company has found a receptive audience in some Democratic state lawmakers.
"With other cities and states across the county now embracing driverless vehicles, it's vital that New York not fall behind on these new and emerging technologies," said Rochester state Sen. Jeremy Cooney. "We are continuing conversations on how we make these changes a reality in a way that brings our state up to speed while ensuring the full safety of passengers and protection of jobs."
Cooney sponsors a bill that would make it legal for autonomous vehicles to operate without human drivers, albeit under a tight set of restrictions. He said the legislation would "create a strong regulatory framework," delineating insurance and registration requirements and officially recognizing the vehicles' automated systems as their driver and operator.
The bill would open the door for the robotaxi services that now operate in cities like San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix. It would also mark a victory for Waymo, which announced this week that it was "advocating for changes to state law" to allow its vehicles to operate autonomously.
"It's not just reacting to companies testing, it's also making sure that we build enough guardrails," said Long Island Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages. "I want to make sure that we're balancing technology progress with real-world protections for workers and communities."
Waymo provides more than 250,000 fully autonomous rides per week, a company spokesman told the Times Union. That's up from about 10,000 rides a week two years ago. A subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet, Waymo also aims to make inroads in Miami, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., in the coming years.
The California-based company aims to make its robotaxis "the world's most trusted driver," according to its website. It frames passenger and pedestrian safety as a central part of its appeal, reporting 93% fewer crashes involving pedestrians when compared to the average human driver and 81% fewer cyclist crashes with injuries.
"In New York, you have far too many people that are dying in motor vehicle crashes," said Jeff Farrah, the CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association. "You have too many people, whether they are the disabled or the elderly, that are not served by the accessibility features of current vehicles that are driven by humans. ... There's a huge moment for autonomous vehicles to be able to help."
There have still been some hiccups since Waymo began offering rides to the public in 2020. In May, it recalled 1,200 of its U.S. robotaxis for a software update after a series of minor collisions with roadway barriers. Waymo also suspended service in parts of San Francisco and Los Angeles when several of its vehicles were spraypainted and set ablaze during protests against immigration raids last month.
Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director for the nonprofit Riders Alliance, said the robotaxis could eventually offer a safer alternative when compared to the "poor track record of human drivers." But that doesn't mean he and other transit advocates are without concerns about the technology. Pearlstein said he has doubts about any initiative that would bring more cars onto the road, potentially slowing down service for public buses.
"It used to be the oil and tire and auto industry that dominated our public space, and now I think there's a real sense that it's the tech industry," Pearlstein said. "It's not important to use our public space to make more money for Silicon Valley."
© 2025 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
