Waymo says that the next big city it’s going to plant autonomous ride-sharing in is New York. Unfortunately, Waymo’s business model isn’t exactly run of the mill, and that may take some time.
Autonomous taxis have boomed in the past couple of years, thanks to one company in particular: Waymo. The brand, owned by Alphabet, has accomplished success with autonomous driving in a way that other self-driving brands just haven’t been able to. So much so, in fact, that the company has expanded to four major cities with full, self-driving Waymo One.
The company has its LiDAR set on one more major city, at least. Waymo announced that it’s going to be coming back to New York in a teaser post on Twitter/X. The notes that it wants to expand to New York, and it has officially begun that process.
The company previously had a small presence in NYC, training drivers on manually controlled vehicles. The city’s notorious streets seemingly prove to be a fantastic training ground for developing data.
How long that will take depends on how fast Waymo can get the necessary permits, legal documentation, and infrastructure together in New York. A DOT permit has been applied for, and there seems to be a stipulation that, at least to begin with, a “specialist” will be sitting behind the wheel.
If that permit is approved, Waymo’s Jaguar I-PACE vehicles may be roaming the streets with a technician along for the ride. This comes as the company has announced plans to double it’s fleet of vehicles within the next year.
There is no telling how long it will take the company to bring fully autonomous service to New York. In the past, Waymo has been quick to incorporate service. If past timelines are any indication, it could take 3-4 years for that to happen.
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