"The proposal, which Hochul had included in her budget proposal last month, would have allowed autonomous-vehicle companies such as Waymo to apply for permission to pilot their services without human operators in the vehicle. The decision to withdraw the plan was confirmed Thursday by the governor's office to Bloomberg News. Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal, said Sean Butler, a Hochul spokesperson."
"Waymo said in a statement to Bloomberg that it was disappointed by the governor's decision. We're committed to bringing our service to New York and will work with the state legislature to advance this issue. The move is a setback for Waymo, which is planning to hit more than 1 million paid weekly robotaxi rides in the US by the end of this year."
Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal that would have allowed commercial robotaxi services to operate outside New York City, removing authorization for companies to pilot driverless vehicles without onboard human operators. The withdrawal followed feedback from stakeholders and insufficient legislative support. Waymo expressed disappointment and said it will work with the state legislature; the decision sets back its goal of more than 1 million paid weekly robotaxi rides in the US this year and planned expansion to 20 cities in 2026. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance welcomed the decision over job-loss concerns, and related tech stocks briefly dipped after the news.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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