New York Governor Kathy Hochul plans to introduce legislation that will effectively legalize robotaxis in the country – except for the most dense metropolis: New York City.
Hochul, who made the comments Tuesday during his State of the State address, said the legislation will advance the next phase of the state’s autonomous vehicle pilot program.
Details about the proposed legislation and when it might be introduced are thin. However, there are some clues in a document which outlines the proposals and promises Hochul made in his State of the State address.
Among them is language to expand the state’s existing AV pilot program to allow “limited deployment of commercial autonomous passenger vehicles for hire outside of New York City.”
The document goes on to say that companies wishing to commercially operate robotaxi services must submit applications that “demonstrate local support for AV deployment and adhere to the highest safety standards.”
It is not clear whether this means “limited deployment” or “highest security standards”. The document also does not outline how the state will track or make decisions about the company’s safety record, except that several agencies will be involved, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Transportation, and the New York State Police.
The governor’s office told TechCrunch more will be revealed in the governor’s executive budget proposal to be released on January 20.
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Still, that statement was enough of an opening to make Alphabet-owned Waymo happy.
“Governor Hochul’s proposal to legalize autonomous vehicles is a transformative moment for New York’s transportation system,” Justin Kintz, Waymo’s head of global public policy, said in an emailed statement.
“With the Governor’s leadership, New York has the opportunity to pair investments in slower speeds, better traffic enforcement, and a first-in-the-nation congestion management strategy with Waymo’s safety-proven technology, making the future of living in New York safer, easier, and more accessible. We stand ready to work with leaders across the country to make this future a reality, a career opportunity, and Kintz,” he said.
Waymo and other companies have been trying to enter New York state for years with limited success. New York state law now mandates that drivers remain behind the wheel. That poses a problem for robotaxi operators like Waymo because there’s no human behind the wheel — if there’s a wheel at all.
The state’s AV pilot program has granted an exemption to the rule, theoretically allowing companies to develop and test autonomous vehicles in the state.
However, there are significant barriers, especially in New York City. Last August, city regulators gave Waymo permission to test robotaxis in the densely populated city. Under the permit, Waymo can deploy up to eight Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn with a human safety operator behind the wheel. A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch that the permit was extended until March 31.
Even with a permit, Waymo cannot carry passengers or operate a commercial robotaxi service without obtaining a separate license from the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.
And when this law was introduced last year to create a framework for driverless operations, has languished in the transportation committee of the state Senate. The governor’s proposal could help alleviate that congestion.