New Yorkers are saying no way to the type of driverless taxis operated by the company Waymo.
A majority of New Yorkers asked in a recent poll said they oppose the driverless robot cars over concerns about lost jobs for drivers, as well as the taxis’ ability to drive in bad weather on the city’s chaotic streets. The poll, published on Monday, was conducted by the Siena Research Institute on behalf of the Black Car Fund, a not-for-profit company that provides workers’ compensation insurance to for-hire drivers.
The poll surveyed 802 registered New York state residents in late January. Nearly 60% said they would feel unsafe riding in a car without a person driving. Roughly 25% of New York City residents supported the use of autonomous vehicles in the five boroughs.
The poll’s release came after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to introduce legislation this year that would allow autonomous vehicles to be tested outside of New York City.
“This initiative builds on years of successful testing demonstrations across the state and reflects growing evidence that autonomous vehicles can improve road safety and transportation options when introduced thoughtfully,” she wrote in her State of the State book.
Last August, then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams allowed Waymo to test eight vehicles on city streets, with the requirement that there be a driver behind the wheel. They’re currently banned from picking up passengers. Adams extended the pilot through the end of March, toward the end of his term.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to opine on Hochul’s plan to expand the autonomous vehicle pilot when asked about the proposal last month while announcing his nominee for a new Taxi and Limousine Commissioner at LaGuardia Airport.
“I take the arrival of autonomous vehicles very seriously, and we’ll always make sure that our policy and our decision-making is focused on the drivers who are here alongside me, in front of me, behind me, to keep our city moving,” Mamdani said.
Waymo currently operates self-driving taxi services in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta and Miami.
The company reports it provides 400,000 rides each week, “with a safety record that shows a tenfold reduction in serious injury or worse crashes compared to drivers where we operate,” Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher wrote in an email. “Paired with New York’s investments in congestion management, slower speeds, and stronger enforcement, Waymo will make transportation in New York easier, safer, and more accessible.”
The prospect of Waymo entering the city has drawn protest from disability advocates, who note robots cannot help people with wheelchairs into cars, as well as taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers who see the technology as an existential threat to their livelihoods.
Beyond the polling, other New Yorkers aren’t ready for Waymo to enter the market.
“The only ones that are really interested in having robots take over human jobs are trillionaires who are also looking to conquer another planet because they can’t get away from us fast enough,” said Bhairavi Desai, head of New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “Ordinary people understand the threat of autonomous vehicles and AI, both in terms of job loss and what it means as a society to have industries that no longer value human beings.”