Driverless Rideshare Robotaxi Service being Tested in NYC

New York City began preparing in 2017 for the anticipated day when driverless cars would fill the streets. Already several companies were testing a variety of prototype vehicles in different markets including Alphabet-owned Google under the company name “Waymo,” General Motor’s “Cruise” startup, Ford, Uber, Apple and many others. The Driverless Future Challenge was launched, intended to solicit actionable solutions for a driverless future and the potential need to repurpose curbside parking space. In 2021, Mobileye, an Intel subsidiary, was the first company to test a self-driving vehicle on city streets with former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration launching a permit process for testing the cars which would require companies to certify that their autonomous vehicle (AV) is safer than a human driver, payment of an annual fee of $5,000 per year, and a human supervisor in each test car that must remain within certain zones. The initiative was an early step in policy challenges that experts say will be required for wide-scale adoption of AVs according to Crain’s New York’s article at the time. As probably the least predictable street environment in the country, driverless cars in New York City will “have to be made ready to manage an environment with pedestrians, blocked-off roadways, construction, unloading trucks — that will require a highly intelligent vehicle” per the statement by a spokesperson of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management. Additional concerns sparked by the use of AVs include the potential displacement of a large number of professional drivers in the city, privacy and storage issues concerning the huge amounts of data that self-driving cars collect, and the potential to add to congestion.

More recently, Alphabet has once again approached New York City, but since New York State law doesn’t allow for vehicles to operate without a person at the wheel, Alphabet’s camera-laden, lithium-ion operated Waymo cars will be driven by humans. Currently “fewer than ten” Waymo cars are operating in Manhattan and “parts of Downtown Brooklyn” according to information provided by a company spokesperson to Crain’s New York. With the hope that New York State will lift its ban on fully autonomous vehicles, Waymo is currently collecting driving data, map local infrastructure, and learning traffic patterns in preparation for a possible launch of its driverless rideshare service. Submitted permit applications are still pending approval from New York City’s Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which would allow Waymo to transfer the controls over of the car to its “Waymo Driver” technology as long as a human supervisor is in the car ready to take control. Waymo’s robotaxis are operating in San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta, and although “early data suggests that driverless vehicles are, on average, safer than human-driven cars, New York City is far more congested than Waymo’s other markets, the NYCDOT noting on its website that “the city presents some of the most challenging urban street environments for an AV to navigate.” In addition to roadway challenges, Waymo’s arrival is likely to spark opposition from current rideshare operators such as Lyft, Uber, and taxi medallion owners and drivers that already compete amongst themselves and face the challenges of regulations such as for-hire vehicle caps and minimum wage requirements for drivers.

Source:    https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/waymo-testing-its-robotaxis-new-york-city

Source:    https://www.crainsnewyork.com/technology/how-new-york-city-preparing-arrival-self-driving-cars