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Waymo introduced immediately that it intends to launch a totally autonomous robotaxi service in New York Metropolis — however first it wants to vary state legislation to allow its automobiles to function with security drivers behind the wheel.
The Alphabet-owned firm stated it has utilized for a allow from the town’s Division of Transportation to check its automobiles with security drivers. If granted, it might be the primary allow allowed underneath the town’s new course of for regulating autonomous check automobiles. Whereas it waits, Waymo says subsequent month it should begin gathering mapping information with manually pushed automobiles in Manhattan.
New York state legislation requires “{that a} check car operator be current and able to assume management of the car whereas the AV know-how is in operation,” based on the town’s AV testing web site. Waymo stated it’s actively lobbying to vary the legislation to permit for autonomous automobiles with out security drivers.
New York state legislation requires “{that a} check car operator be current and able to assume management of the car whereas the AV know-how is in operation.”
A invoice was launched within the New York State Legislature earlier this yr that will allow autonomous automobiles with out security drivers “offered that the automated driving system is engaged and the car meets sure situations.” The invoice is at present into consideration by the state Senate’s transportation committee.
New York Metropolis additionally has among the most harmful, congested, and poorly managed streets on the planet. They’re additionally filled with development staff, pedestrians, bicyclists, and double- and typically even triple-parked vehicles. In concept, this might make it very troublesome for an autonomous car to navigate, on condition that AVs sometimes depend on good climate, clear signage, and fewer aggressive driving from different street customers for secure operation. And it’s not clear that the state will amend its legal guidelines to permit for totally driverless automobiles, with some lawmakers expressing reservations.
“This sort of testing hasn’t even been accomplished in different components of the nation,” state Senator John Liu instructed Every day Information final yr after the town introduced its new allowing course of. “It could behoove New York Metropolis to attend to see a few of these different outcomes of driverless know-how in much less dense city settings. That is an instance of one thing the place New York Metropolis doesn’t need to be first.”
Whereas different states have turn out to be hotbeds for AV testing, New York has been a little bit of a ghost city. A part of the rationale may very well be the state’s strict guidelines, which initially required a police escort of autonomous check automobiles — although that language was eliminated after a renewal of the legislation a number of years in the past.
Waymo is at present working a robotaxi fleet of 1,500 automobiles in 4 markets: San Francisco and the Bay Space, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. It plans on launching a industrial service in Atlanta later this yr, in addition to Miami and Washington, DC. The corporate has stated it should add an extra 2,000 automobiles to its fleet via 2026.
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