Waymo: Expansion plans dampened in New York

Contents

The governor of the US state of New York, Kathy Hochul, has withdrawn a proposal to legalize the use of commercial robotaxis outside of New York City on a limited scale. The proposal would have allowed providers such as Alphabet subsidiary Waymo to apply for a permit to pilot their autonomous vehicle services. The news agency Bloomberg first reported on the decision to withdraw the plan on Thursday.

"Based on conversations with stakeholders, including lawmakers, it was clear there was no support for moving forward with this proposal," a spokesperson for Hochul told Bloomberg.

Setback for Waymo

The decision is a setback for Waymo's expansion plans. The US company had only recently raised more than 16 billion US dollars in a new funding round. The fresh capital is intended to fuel expansion in the US and entry into global markets. So far, the robotaxi service is available in half a dozen US cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Waymo has announced plans to expand to 20 cities in the US and abroad this year, including Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando, Nashville, and London. In January, the network was expanded to include Miami.

Last year, Waymo tripled its annual volume to 15 million rides and surpassed the mark of 20 million rides in total. The company now completes more than 400,000 paid rides weekly and aims for well over one million paid robotaxi rides per week in the US by the end of this year, according to Bloomberg.

Millions for Lobbying

The state of New York, and New York City in particular, are considered a potential goldmine for robotaxi companies. However, Hochul's original proposal excluded autonomous driving services for New York City anyway. According to US tech portal The Verge, Waymo is currently testing its driver-controlled vehicles in the city with a permit granted under the administration of former Mayor Eric Adams. However, the permit expires at the end of March. As US news portal Politico reports, Waymo has spent at least 1.8 million US dollars on lobbying efforts with Hochul and state lawmakers, as well as New York City officials, since 2019.

Waymo Disappointed, Union Satisfied

In a statement to Bloomberg, Waymo expressed "disappointment" over the governor's decision but reaffirmed its intention to offer its robotaxi service in New York. "We are determined to bring our service to New York and will work with the state legislature to advance this issue."

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), on the other hand, welcomed the decision. The taxi driver union, which claims to represent 21,000 professional ride-hail and taxi drivers in New York City, had previously spoken out against the robotaxi plan, fearing job losses and further expansion of Waymo. "If job losses are significant in New York City, they are also significant for other drivers in the state," said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the NYTWA, to Bloomberg. "If drivers in the state lose their jobs, they are expected to come to the city to seek employment. While there may be regulatory boundaries, there are no practical boundaries in this industry. It would be naive for Waymo to settle for a few cars in Rochester [city in the US state of New York, editor's note] when most of the jobs come from the city."

(akn)