The robots are here – kind of.
The first driverless robotaxis hit the streets of the Big Apple as part of a test program with humans still in the driver seat, though some New Yorkers said futuristic tech is a disaster waiting to happen.
Waymo officials are assessing how its vehicles will handle city obstacles like jaywalkers, taxis, cyclists and carriage horses as up to eight robotaxis make their way around Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, was granted approval Friday by the Department of Transportation to deploy the vehicles in a test run and they’ve already been spotted in Manhattan’s bustling Soho neighborhood over the weekend.
The pilot program — which won’t take any passengers — is set to end in September but some critics have already made up their minds.
“If there’s one place on Earth that was NOT meant for self-driving cars, it’s NYC. This is a really bad idea,” former Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote in a Friday X post.
Rodrigue Wabo, a 45-year-old Times Square sightseeing company operator, said he didn’t think the tech was safe.
“It’s a very busy area, and it’s just a machine,” Wabo said. “For me, I don’t trust that.”
Uber driver Mohamed, who was driving by the area Monday, said there were too many factors in the city that need “a quick reflex.”
Mohamed described driving in New York as “completely different” from other states, from rapid fire braking to a local vehicular dialect: honking.
“In New York, honking here is a way of communication,” he explained. “It’s way more than just honk to get your way, it’s about communication with the next driver.”
Others, like Manhattanite Stephen Sposito welcomed the tech, and said it would eliminate driver distractions.
“The idea makes sense,” he said. “The idea feels safer than a driver, ultimately.”
The self-driving car service began collecting data via human drivers in Waymo vehicles in Manhattan and Brooklyn in July. The company first drove through Gotham in 2021, though that trip focused on weather data collection.
The all-electric vehicles are approved to travel south of 112th Street in Manhattan and, in Brooklyn, north of Atlantic Avenue and west of Carlton Street through the likes of Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn and DUMBO.
Waymo already operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta, and is planning to launch its autonomous drivers in Miami later this year and Washington DC in 2026. The service has completed over 10 million rides and touts a “strong safety record,” a company rep said.
Its New York testing permit still requires all vehicles to be manned by a human safety specialist in the car, Waymo said, as state law has yet to allow autonomous vehicles without a human copilot.
A pair of state bills introduced in January seek to change the law but haven’t gotten past the committee stage.
“We’re proud to be working with New York state leaders to lay the groundwork for fully autonomous rides,” Waymo said in a statement.
“With over 10 million rides completed in five major U.S. cities and a strong safety record, we’re proud to be working with leaders to lay the groundwork to bring this life saving technology to New Yorkers one day,” said Annabel Chang, head of US state and local public policy at Waymo, “beginning with receiving the first-ever permit issued in the city to drive autonomously.
“We believe it is essential for companies to collaborate directly with cities on the rollout of autonomous technology,” Chang added, “and are pleased to have reached this next step in New York City.”
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