Like a self-driving car services from Alphabet’s Waymo, Amazon’s Zoox, and Tesla have been slowly, quietly expanding across the US, one big, important state has remained mum: New York.
The union’s fourth most populous state has some of the strictest laws governing autonomous vehicles, requiring state-licensed companies to conduct tests only with the driver behind the wheel. There is no current way for companies to use the kind of commercial robot services like the kind seen in San Francisco or Las Vegas.
But that may change. On Tuesday, as part of her annual State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul will announce that she is proposing legislation that would expand New York’s current laws to allow companies to operate limited self-driving car services in cities around the state, her office confirmed Monday. Pilot robotaxi programs will only be approved if companies submit applications that “demonstrate local support” for the use of their technology, as well as strong safety records. This program will take out New York City.
“This plan will make our streets safer and will improve transportation options for communities outside of New York City,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. He said government agencies “will ensure that these pilots are conducted in accordance with the highest safety standards.”
If passed, the law will leave one thing unclear: how self-driving developers might jump from offering limited services in New York cities to full commercial operations, like the way Waymo runs in the San Francisco Bay Area. More information about how commercial robotics services can become fully operational in the state will come “in the near future,” Hochul’s office said.
New York City—the nation’s largest city—uses its own autonomous vehicle testing permit system but does not have a mechanism to allow the vehicles to operate without drivers on busy streets. Waymo has permission to test eight vehicles in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn; that permit will expire at the end of March. Eight vehicles are also not allowed to operate without a safe driver behind the wheel, or to carry passengers.
If passed, Hochul’s law would mark a major breakthrough for self-driving engineers, who have eyed large, metropolitan states including Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, and New York as targets for legislation allowing commercial robot services. Some states, including California, Texas, and Arizona, have laws on the books that clearly explain how technology companies can move from testing to limited testing programs and then to full commercial services.
Waymo did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
State records show Waymo spent more than $370,000 lobbying New York officials and lawmakers on transportation and communications issues last year. The company currently operates driverless services in five cities—Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta—and plans to launch services in a dozen more, including London, this year.
Update, January 12 at 9:10 pm: This story was updated to note that Waymo did not respond to a request for comment.
