While Waymo robotaxis are increasingly popping up in cities across the country, the driverless taxi service is still a long way from offering rides in New York City.
The City reports that Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is no longer able to test its vehicles in the Big Apple. The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) confirmed to the local outlet that permits issued by the city and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which allowed Waymo to test its vehicles, expired last month.
Waymo had been testing eight vehicles with trained safety specialists on board in Downtown Brooklyn and south of 112th Street in Manhattan since last year. The company has not reported any collisions involving the vehicles during the testing period.
The news comes as robotaxis appear to be having a moment. Waymo alone now operates in about 10 metro areas, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami, and has plans to expand to even more cities.
Zoox, owned by Amazon, already offers rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco and is expanding to Austin and Miami.
Meanwhile, Uber is also getting into the robotaxi game. The company announced last month a new partnership with Rivian to roll out up to 50,000 unsupervised robotaxis by 2031, starting in San Francisco and Miami.
Still, there are currently no clear near-term plans for robotaxis to hit New York City streets.
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently rolled back plans to allow Waymo to test its vehicles in several upstate cities after the proposal failed to gain support from lawmakers.
In a press conference last week, New York City’s Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was hesitant to give a clear answer when asked whether his administration would renew Waymo’s city permit if the state DMV signs off on its testing license.
“Look, if a company like Waymo finds itself in New York City, what they will also find is a City government that is committed to delivering for the workers who keep the city running, and those workers also include our taxi drivers who, for far too long, have been sold a dream of being able to work their way to the middle class, only to have the rug pulled out from under them,” Mamdani said at a press conference.
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo.
However, a Waymo spokesperson told The City the company would evaluate its operations in New York City if the DMV testing permit is renewed in this year’s state budget.
