Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is expected on Thursday to withdraw a recent proposal to expand the use of autonomous for-hire vehicles outside of New York City, according to her office.
The retreat comes after fierce opposition from taxi and labor groups, even as autonomous vehicles have become more common in cities throughout the United States.
In January, the governor’s office included language in the state’s executive budget that would have enabled communities outside the city to allow a number of so-called robotaxis to pick up passengers. The proposal would have permitted private companies, like Waymo, Uber and others, to seek approval from local governments, if they could prove the concept’s popularity with residents.
Ms. Hochul praised the proposal in January as a boon for road safety and for transportation options outside New York City. But a month later, even that tentative language is expected to be removed from the budget.
“Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the Legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal,” Sean Butler, a spokesman for the governor, said in a statement.
Taxi and for-hire-vehicle groups representing drivers have strongly opposed robotaxis. And Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is closely allied with cabdrivers, has expressed skepticism about their use in New York City, perhaps the biggest test remaining for the autonomous vehicle industry.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, allows people to hail a ride using its own app in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami. Waymo employees are able to hail rides in five additional cities in Florida, Texas and Tennessee, a sign that Waymo may be close to offering its services to the general public in more places. This month, the company said it had raised $16 billion for its global expansion plan.
Other companies, like Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox, are building their own autonomous taxi businesses. Politico first reported on Ms. Hochul’s decision.
Ethan Teicher, a spokesman for Waymo, said in a statement that the company was disappointed by the governor’s expected move but would continue to seek ways to bring its autonomous fleet to the state.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the governor, the Legislature and officials around the state to deliver the proven mobility option that New Yorkers are waiting for,” he said.
Supporters of driverless automobiles say the industry can help make for-hire vehicles more accessible to people with disabilities, and that autonomous cars are safer than vehicles with drivers.
Waymo has been testing eight of its autonomous vehicles on the streets of New York City since last year. Passengers cannot book a ride in the cars, and state law requires the company to run the tests with a human driver behind the wheel who can take over if the car cannot drive itself. The company’s permission to test in the city ends on March 31, Mr. Teicher said.
Cab and for-hire-vehicle drivers have long been wary of the rise of robotaxis.
Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents more than 28,000 cab, Uber and Lyft drivers in the city, said she welcomed the governor’s decision to pump the brakes on the upstate pilot programs.
“This is technology that is going to have a significant impact on livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers,” Ms. Desai said, adding that her group was skeptical of the industry’s safety claims.
A number of recent high-profile episodes have hurt the industry’s image.
In October, an automated Jaguar operated by Waymo ran over and killed Kit Kat, a beloved tabby cat in San Francisco, a city that has allowed wider use of driverless vehicles.
Last month, in Santa Monica, Calif., a Waymo robotaxi struck a child, who sustained minor injuries. The company said the child had “suddenly entered the roadway” and that its vehicle had hit the brakes more effectively than a human driver would have in the same circumstances.
Stefanos Chen is a Times reporter covering New York City’s transit system.
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