Autonomous vehicles, so-called robot taxis, from Waymo are now operating in New York. New York City allows robotaxis, but only with safety drivers.
The city has announced a new permit system for companies interested in testing autonomous vehicles on their streets. This includes the requirement that a human safety driver is behind the vehicle at all times steering wheel located.
While cities like San Francisco struggling with the problems of completely driverless rental cars New York City, to get ahead of the problem by developing a rigorous permitting program to ensure applicants can safely and competently test their technology in the country’s most demanding urban environment.
The requirements would exclude companies without prior experience testing autonomous vehicles. Fully driverless vehicles are not allowed to be tested on the city’s public streets; only vehicles with safety drivers are allowed.
Some companies like Waymo and Cruise have already deployed driverless vehicles, but problems with traffic delays and safety have been identified. New York City hopes to avoid similar problems by requiring companies to have safety drivers on vehicles at all times.
The City will consider requests from applicants to withhold certain information due to confidentiality. Although New York is not known for AV testing, it is a lucrative market for robotaxi companies due to its taxi market size.