New York City has a new authorization procedure for autonomous vehicle (AV) testing businesses. The technology requires a human safety driver behind the wheel at all times.
The action comes as San Francisco struggles with autonomous for-hire vehicles or robotaxis. New York City has "a rigorous permitting program," assuring applicants may safely and effectively test their technology in the urban setting, according to The Verge.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, "This technology is coming whether we like it or not, so we're going to make sure that we get it right."
Permit rules exclude firms without autonomous vehicle testing experience in other cities. Applicants must give crash data and safety driver control incidents from prior examinations. Safety-driven vehicles can test on city roads, but robotaxis cannot.
Waymo and Cruise have Level 4 AVs. Traffic congestion and safety considerations have slowed their business expansion. Two San Francisco incidents-a Cruise robotaxi dragging a person and a Waymo vehicle hitting a bicyclist-have grabbed attention.
New York City's Strict Regulations on Robotaxis
New York City enforces safe driving at all times to reduce such issues. Companies must get a state Department of Motor Vehicles authorization and meet safety driver recruiting and training criteria under the plan. Autonomous cars must also follow traffic and curb laws. Companies must provide methods for system failures and crash prevention.
Moreover, Autonomous car testing data will be on the city's Open Data portal. The Department of Transportation will consider application requests to withhold private data.
New York has been a laggard in autonomous car testing due to its strict laws. With one of the world's largest taxi marketplaces, New York City remains interesting to autonomous vehicle startups.
In early March, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved Waymo's robotaxi services in Los Angeles and San Mateo counties. The approval followed nearly a year of autonomous car testing in LA.
Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilana said autonomous cars will avoid Los Angeles County freeways in its cautious rollout approach, as previously reported by TechTimes.
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However, some local leaders oppose Waymo's autonomous effort. Mayor Karen Bass wrote to the CPUC in November to voice her objection to Local authorities like Los Angeles not participating in autonomous car deployment. She mentioned an August 2023 incident in which a Waymo car reportedly failed to stop for a traffic officer at a crossroads, though no injuries were recorded.
(Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar taxi drives along a street on March 14, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Robotaxis Struggling to Win Public Trust
On X, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn also dissented. He called the CPUC's Waymo ruling "dangerous," worried about robotaxis' experimental nature, and said Angelenos shouldn't serve as "Big Tech's guinea pigs." Hahn stressed the necessity of letting cities steer such major choices rather than overruling them.
Meanwhile, a report from Axios states that a dwindling number of self-driving vehicle businesses are struggling to gain public trust due to accidents involving robotaxis.
Austin citizens and emergency workers complained about driverless vehicles last year.
Last week at the South by Southwest event, driverless vehicles were discussed. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson told Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi onstage that AV firms must work with cities to prevent costly failures.
"I'm all for profit margins and stuff, but ultimately the public good has to play a role in this, and it shouldn't be sacrificed, and it shouldn't be secondary to the profit of the private entity," he said.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana responded to the mayor's comments by emphasizing the company's collaboration with local community groups and first responders.
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