Waymo just applied for a permit to test self-driving cars in New York City. This is the Alphabet company’s first move to bring its robotaxis to the nation’s biggest city.
The permit request is with the NYC Department of Transportation. Waymo wants to roll out self-driving Jaguar I-Pace cars in Manhattan, but with a human safety operator behind the wheel. NYC rules require a human driver ready to take control, a $5 million insurance policy, and trained operators.
New York’s strict laws make this just a testing phase. No driverless rides allowed yet. Waymo is pushing for changes to let vehicles run without a human at the wheel. The company is also working with groups like MADD NY, YAI, National Federation of the Blind, and Bronx Community College to improve relations. 
Waymo told TechCrunch it’s had positive talks with lawmakers and hopes to shift laws that currently require “at least one hand” on the steering wheel at all times.
Waymo told TechCrunch it has had positive conversations with lawmakers this year and hopes to keep making progress on regulatory changes. New York law states that any person operating a motor vehicle must have
at least one hand (or prosthetic) on the steering mechanism at all times. Changing that wording will be key to Waymo eventually being able to deploy driverless vehicles.
Other companies like Mobileye and Cruise tried to test in NYC but never got past demos or pilot runs.
The challenge: NYC streets are packed with cars, bikes, buses, and pedestrians. Waymo has experience in busy cities like San Francisco but NYC cranks up the difficulty by tenfold.
Waymo has had its eyes on NYC for years. Back in 2021, it used manually driven Chrysler Pacifica minivans to map Manhattan streets. Each car had two people: a driver and a passenger monitoring the system. Those cars never ran autonomously.
Today, Waymo runs over 250,000 fully autonomous paid trips weekly in places like Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. NYC might finally be next — once the rules catch up.
