Waymo has received approval to begin testing its driverless vehicles in New York City. NYC is the largest city in the country and by far the most difficult driving challenge Waymo will face to date.
With 8.48 million residents according to the 2024 census, New York City remains the largest city in the United States with over double the residents of #2 Los Angeles (3.88M) and over three times the residents of Chicago (2.72M) and Houston (2.39M).
After being granted approval to begin testing its driverless Jaguar I-Pace SUVs in NYC (Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn), Waymo told TechCrunch that it plans to begin on-road testing immediately.
Waymo Enters NYC, With Caveats
In a press release from Mayor Eric Adams’ office, it was announced that “New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced that DOT has granted Waymo its first-ever permit to begin testing a limited number of autonomous vehicles (AV) in parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn under the nation’s strictest AV safety rules.”
The nation’s strictest autonomous vehicle rules stipulate that during the testing phase, “trained AV-specialist behind the wheel” of the Waymo vehicle at all times with one hand on the steering wheel, despite not steering the car itself.
Waymo’s driverless vechicles will also just be driving around learning the roads, traffic patterns, and nuances of NYC because without a medallion from the Taxi and Limousine Commission the driverless Waymo’s will not be allowed to pick up passengers.
The press release from Mayor Adams’ office stipulates that “DOT’s approval strictly relates to testing AV technology — the use of autonomous vehicles for for-hire service is currently prohibited by New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) rules, and any company providing for-hire service must comply with TLC rules, including by obtaining a TLC license.” In layman’s terms, Waymo will need approval/a medallion in order to pick up passengers.
Throughout the robotaxi testing ground process, Waymo will also be required to regularly meet with city officials and share data about the ongoing project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUCaWt8qsU&list=RDNSEaUCaWt8qsU&start_radio=1
This is going to be complicated
Despite having the best public transportation in the country, streets in NYC are extremely congested and highways can resemble a rally car race depending on the time of night.
I had a car for years while living in Manhattan, a car that I parked over an hour away by subway from my apartment because it was cheaper that way, and having driven extensively in Manhattan I cannot really wrap my mind around driverless Waymo vehicles taking over NYC anytime soon. There are always moving parts: pedestrians, delivery cyclists, rogue bands of motorcycles and 4-wheelers, ~13,587 yellow taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, police vehicles everywhere, city buses, trash trucks, and they are on the round 24/7/365.
Road closures in NYC constant. Re-routing is part of life. Waymo has grown by leaps and bounds but will it be able to adjust to the ever-changing landscape of NYC?
Currently, Waymo is operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin. San Francisco is a very congested driving city but still pales in comparison, in population and scope, to the roads of NYC. Only time will tell how this Waymo NYC experiment turns out.
The post Driverless Waymo Vehicles To Face Toughest Challenge Yet: The Big Apple appeared first on BroBible.
Driverless Waymo Vehicles To Face Toughest Challenge Yet: The Big Apple
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