{"id":175795,"date":"2025-08-26T01:48:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T01:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/175795\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T01:48:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T01:48:17","slug":"waymos-robotaxis-hit-nyc-in-test-run-but-locals-ex-mayor-say-hit-the-brakes-really-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/175795\/","title":{"rendered":"Waymo’s robotaxis hit NYC in test run — but locals, ex-mayor say hit the brakes: ‘Really bad idea’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The robots are here \u2013 kind of.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, was granted approval Friday<\/a> by the Department of Transportation to deploy the vehicles in a test run and they\u2019ve already been spotted in Manhattan\u2019s bustling Soho neighborhood over the weekend.<\/p>\n

A Waymo driverless vehicle being tested on Spring Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. Billy Becerra \/ NY Post<\/p>\n

The vehicles won\u2019t be taking on riders for the duration of the pilot, which will wrap in September with the possibility of an extension, according to a spokesperson for the company. Billy Becerra \/ NY Post<\/p>\n

The pilot program \u2014 which won\u2019t take any passengers \u2014 is set to end in September but some critics have already made up their minds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s one place on Earth that was NOT meant for self-driving cars, it\u2019s NYC. This is a really bad idea,\u201d former Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote in a Friday X post.<\/p>\n

Rodrigue Wabo, a 45-year-old Times Square sightseeing company operator, said he didn\u2019t think the tech was safe. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very busy area, and it\u2019s just a machine,\u201d Wabo said. \u201cFor me, I don\u2019t trust that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uber driver Mohamed, who was driving by the area Monday, said there were too many factors in the city that need \u201ca quick reflex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohamed described driving in New York as \u201ccompletely different\u201d from other states, from rapid fire braking to a local vehicular dialect: honking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn New York, honking here is a way of communication,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s way more than just honk to get your way, it\u2019s about\u00a0communication with the next driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others, like Manhattanite Stephen Sposito welcomed the tech, and said it would eliminate driver distractions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea makes sense,\u201d he said. \u201cThe idea feels safer than a driver, ultimately.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Waymo driverless vehicle being tested on Spring Street in SoHo. Billy Becerra \/ NY Post<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cstrong safety record,\u201d a company rep said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

A pair of state bills introduced in January<\/a> seek to change the law but haven\u2019t gotten past the committee stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to be working with New York state leaders to lay the groundwork for fully autonomous rides,\u201d Waymo said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Waymo\u2019s New York testing permit still requires all vehicles to be manned by a human safety specialist in the car, as state law requires a human inside vehicles at all times. Billy Becerra \/ NY Post<\/p>\n

Despite City Hall attesting the vehicles will be subjected to \u201cthe nation\u2019s strictest AV safety rules,\u201d not all New Yorkers seem to be driven by the idea. Billy Becerra \/ NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cWith over 10 million rides completed in five major U.S. cities and a strong safety record, we\u2019re proud to be working with leaders to lay the groundwork to bring this life saving technology to New Yorkers one day,\u201d said Annabel Chang, head of US state and local public policy at Waymo, \u201cbeginning with receiving the first-ever permit issued in the city to drive autonomously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe it is essential for companies to collaborate directly with cities on the rollout of autonomous technology,\u201d Chang added, \u201cand are pleased to have reached this next step in New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The robots are here \u2013 kind of. The first driverless robotaxis hit the streets of the Big Apple…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":175796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,1121,13239,96347,5249,5248,405,403,7619,5226,5225,5228,5227,99897,23789,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-175795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-city-hall","11":"tag-future-tech","12":"tag-manhattan","13":"tag-metro","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-city-life","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkcity","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-self-driving-vehicles","22":"tag-soho","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-us-news","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115092553980777744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}