New York City regulators have extended Waymo’s autonomous vehicle testing permit through the end of the year, the company said Wednesday.
The permit was initially granted in August to allow Waymo to test its robotaxis in the city until the end of September. The terms of the extended permit are the same: Waymo can deploy up to eight of its Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn with a human safety operator behind the wheel. A spokesperson for Waymo said the permit makes the company’s drivers exempt from New York’s rules mandating they keep one hand on the wheel at all times.
Waymo’s permit extension signals that it is inching toward being the first AV company to launch a robotaxi service on the chaotic and dense streets of NYC. The company currently operates a commercial service in San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and plans to open to the public in Miami, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Denver, and Nashville within the next year.
“As sponsor of legislation on autonomous vehicles at the state level, I’m encouraged to see New York City moving forward with testing that will show us how this technology can improve safety, reduce congestion, and expand mobility,” Assemblymember Brian Cunningham said in a statement. “This is the type of measured innovation that allows us to prepare for the future while making sure progress works for New Yorkers.”
Still, Waymo has a long way to go in NYC — a city where the Alphabet-owned company has been trying to operate since 2021. Even with this permit, Waymo cannot carry passengers or operate a commercial robotaxi service without getting separate licenses from the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. A Waymo spokesperson declined to comment on whether the company is in talks to apply for those licenses. TechCrunch has reached out to the TLC to learn more about requirements for AV companies.
Another hurdle is that there is no permitting structure in New York that allows Waymo or any other AV company to test or deploy robotaxis without a human safety driver. While legislation has been introduced to create a framework for driverless operation, nothing has been passed into law yet.
Rebecca Bellan is a senior reporter at TechCrunch where she covers the business, policy, and emerging trends shaping artificial intelligence. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, and other publications.
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