NYC Finally Allows Driverless Cars – But Only With ‘Human Safety Monitors’ Behind The Wheel

Robotaxis produced by Google’s sister company, Waymo, rolled out onto New York City streets earlier this week as it tests the vehicles with “human safety operators” in America’s most populous city for the first time.

Waymo submitted its application to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) last month to roll out a “small fleet” of robotaxis, but to comply with state law, the company must place a human in each car, at least for now, The New York Post reported. Waymo and the DOT are currently pushing for the state to change its law that requires human drivers in each vehicle. Two bills introduced earlier this year to overturn the state’s ban on self-driving vehicles are still in committee.

“We are working hard to bring Waymo to New Yorkers in the future, starting with this testing and advocating for changes to state law,” a DOT representative told the Post.

We're on the move in the Big Apple! 🏙️ We've begun testing in New York – be sure to give us a wave and snap a pic if you see us in the city. pic.twitter.com/0cu2XSWAoi

— Waymo (@Waymo) July 8, 2025

“The data to date shows that Waymo outperforms human drivers, significantly reducing the frequency of injury-causing traffic collisions,” said a spokesman for Waymo.

The manually driven Waymo vehicles in NYC will be servicing Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, according to TechCrunch. They will also map out parts of New Jersey, focusing on Jersey City and Hoboken. Waymo vehicles also hit Philadelphia this week, where the vehicles will be seen throughout the downtown area as well as driving “at all hours throughout various Philadelphia neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick, University City, and as far east as the Delaware River.”

Waymo’s move to NYC and Philadelphia this week is part of the company’s “road trips,” a plan used to send small batches of human-driven vehicles to cities across the United States to map out areas where Waymo could expand its services in the future. Waymo also plans to embark on “road trips” to Houston, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Diego, and San Antonio this year, TechCrunch reported.

“Once the Waymo Driver understands the lay of the land, the vehicles can begin driving autonomously. During these trips, human specialists provide feedback to our engineering teams on the driving experience and flag unique nuances that might come with operating in new areas. Simultaneously, our engineering team can evaluate the Waymo Driver’s performance in a virtual replica of the new location,” Waymo said in November 2023.

Waymo’s self-driving robotaxis are currently operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Austin.

As Waymo looks to roll out robotaxis in more cities, it has also been forced to address some issues with its driverless cars. In May, Waymo recalled more than 1,200 of its robotaxis after a software glitch caused multiple crashes into chains, gates, or other roadway barriers, objects that road safety regulators said “a competent driver would be expected to avoid.”

Waymo said that it fixed the issue with a regular update to its fifth-generation self-driving software in November 2024.

Some Los Angeles and San Francisco residents have also recorded incidents involving driverless Waymo vehicles, including confusion, backing into oncoming traffic, and blocking emergency vehicles.

Waymo turned into oncoming traffic on the way to work.

It sat there confused for 45 seconds with its hazards on.

Then it proceeded to back up into oncoming traffic.

And they’re about to let these guys on the freeway 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZLRKx2loo1

— Jake Glaser | LA Multifamily (@LAMultiBroker) January 31, 2025

Videos like this is why I have my doubts on Waymo.

Blocking three emergency vehicles in the middle of an intersection, and it just looks confused. pic.twitter.com/wUe7RDltzL

— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) June 2, 2025