Waymo cars are coming to New York, but with a driver behind the wheel

Residents of New York City are about to witness the arrival of Waymo vehicles navigating the bustling streets. However, for the time being, these vehicles will have a human driver behind the wheel. On Wednesday, Waymo, the self-driving division of Alphabet, announced its plans to begin driving manually in New York, marking a significant step towards operating in the nation's largest city. The company disclosed that it has submitted a permit application to the New York City Department of Transportation, seeking approval to operate with a trained specialist in Manhattan. "While we won't be full-time in New York just yet, we are committed to eventually launching our fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the city," the company stated in their announcement. They emphasized their ongoing efforts to achieve this goal through various initiatives. Should the permit be approved, it would represent the first deployment of autonomous vehicle testing in New York City. Currently, state regulations prevent services like Waymo from operating without a human driver. "We're actively advocating for changes in state law to permit driverless vehicle operation," the company added. In the meantime, Waymo is rapidly expanding its presence across various U.S. markets. Waymo One, their ride-hailing service, currently facilitates over 250,000 paid rides each week in locations such as Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The company is also gearing up to offer fully autonomous rides in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., by 2026. Waymo has previously made an appearance in New York, having tested its vehicles in parts of the city back in 2021 for manual driving and data collection. According to Ethan Teicher, a spokesperson for Waymo, this was a planned operation with specific start and end points. This earlier testing helped the company enhance its driving capabilities in challenging weather conditions, such as ice and snow, in a densely populated urban environment.