New Proposed Legislation Would Let Self-Driving Cars Operate in New York State

As self-driving car services from Alphabet’s Waymo, Amazon’s Zoox, and Tesla have slowly, quietly expanded across the US, one big, important state has mostly stayed mum: New York.

The union’s fourth most populous state has some of the tightest laws governing autonomous vehicles, requiring companies approved to test in the state to only do so with a driver behind the wheel. There’s no current path for companies to operate the sort of commercial robotaxi services like the sort seen in San Francisco or Las Vegas.

But that could be about to change. On Tuesday, as part of her annual State of State address, Governor Kathy Hochul is set to announce that she is proposing legislation that would expand New York’s current regulations to allow companies to operate limited commercial self-driving car services in cities around the state, her office confirmed Monday. Pilot robotaxi programs would be approved only if the companies submit applications that “demonstrate local support” for their tech’s deployment, as well as robust safety records. The program would exclude New York City.

“This program will make our roads safer and will improve mobility options for communities outside of New York City,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. She said that state agencies would “ensure that these pilots are done in accordance with the highest safety standards.”

If it passes, the legislation would leave one thing unclear: how self-driving-tech developers might jump from providing limited services in New York cities to operating full-scale commercial operations, like the sort Waymo runs in the San Francisco Bay Area. More information about how commercial robotaxi services might fully launch in the state would come “in the future,” Hochul’s office said.

New York City—the nation’s largest metropolis—operates its own autonomous vehicle testing permit program but doesn’t have a path to allow the vehicles to operate without drivers on its busy streets. Waymo holds a permit to test eight vehicles in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn; that permit will expire at the end of March. The eight vehicles are also not allowed to operate without a safety driver behind the wheel, or to pick up passengers.

If it passes, Hochul’s legislation would mark a serious win for self-driving-car developers, who have viewed large, urbanized states including Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, and New York as the juiciest targets for legislation allowing the operation of commercial robotaxi services. Other states, including California, Texas, and Arizona, have laws on the books clearly outlining how the technology companies might move from testing to limited pilot programs and then full-blown commercial services.

State records show that Waymo spent more than $370,000 lobbying New York State officials and lawmakers on transportation and telecommunications issues last year. The company currently operates driverless services in five cities—Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta—and plans to launch services in some dozen more, including London, this year.