Why driverless taxi service Waymo won’t be on your streets soon

Late last year, a delegation from Waymo met with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s staff as she considered a measure to legalize the company’s self-driving taxis in New York.

Waymo floated an idea: If New York allowed the company to offer driverless rides to the public, it could provide millions of dollars to benefit taxi drivers and other workers displaced by the technology, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. The proposed financing was about $20 million, one of the people said.

But Waymo still hasn’t been able to fend off labor groups’ opposition to its technology. Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, introduced a budget proposal in January that would allow Waymo to operate in much of the state, except for its biggest market, New York City. A month later, it withdrew its support after an outcry from groups representing drivers, who quickly declared victory.

“Billionaire tech bosses underestimate workers at their peril,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

Waymo is increasingly facing political hurdles as it tries to roll out its self-driving, AI-powered taxis nationwide. After early successes that won over politicians in California — its home state — and elsewhere, Waymo found itself opening up some of the country’s biggest markets.

New York abandoned its proposal to allow self-driving taxis earlier this year. New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said he would strongly consider the interests of taxi drivers when deciding on rules for the technology. In Illinois, legislation authorizing the service stalled after unions protested. And in Washington, D.C., the City Council has delayed a decision on whether to allow robo-taxis for years.

Those cities and others are central to Waymo’s expansion plans as the company pushes its vehicles onto new roads, according to industry analysts and experts. Waymo recently raised $16 billion in new funding from investors to expand, and the company is way ahead of the competition.

But in the vacuum of federal rules governing the technology, the company must continue to win over local and state officials to expand.

Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft start when you can use them “anywhere you can go,” said Gil Luria, head of technology research at DA Davidson, a financial services company. “Ultimately, for Waymo to be successful, they’re going to have to have broad, at least national, regulatory acceptance.”

Waymo’s ambitions helped start one of the first political battles over the real-world ability of artificial intelligence to replace human workers. Tech executives have said that artificial intelligence could put many people out of work, raising concerns around the world. California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom last month ordered the state to study how to protect workers from automation.

The potential for AI to disrupt has taken on new significance ahead of November’s midterm elections. Voters are increasingly concerned about the technology’s potential to raise energy costs and disrupt the broader economy.

That means Waymo must also face concerns about artificial intelligence in addition to specific questions about the future of transportation, said Justin Kintz, the company’s global head of public policy.

“Our strategy remains the same. We want to meet people and governments where they are,” Mr. Kintz said. “And we know some of them will take more time than others. But we’re committed to our strategy. We’re committed to earning trust.”

The company beat out rivals including Amazon-owned Zoox and Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker Tesla. Waymo offers driverless rides in nine cities in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Tennessee, and is partnering with Uber to offer rides in Atlanta and Austin, Texas. Passengers now pay for half a million rides each week, more than double a year ago.

Waymo, which began as Google’s experimental self-driving car project in 2009, has been in the forefront for a long time shaping driverless vehicle laws. It is still owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

Google championed some of the industry’s first legislative victories. A total of 26 states — including Texas, Florida and California — now allow vehicles to operate without drivers, according to the Autonomous Vehicle Association.

But 24 other states only allow testing or have no laws governing robo-taxis. The pace of legalizing the technology in those states has slowed, and legislative efforts this year to allow autonomous vehicles in states like Maryland and Virginia failed.

One big hurdle: security concerns. Despite Waymo’s argument that its cars cause fewer serious accidents than those driven by humans, critics often point to problems. A Waymo car struck a child near a California elementary school in January, causing minor injuries. Another car kills a cat in San Francisco.

Waymo briefly suspended driverless service on highways last month and suspended rides in several cities over concerns about the cars’ ability to handle flooded roads.

Labor groups representing taxi, limousine, Uber, Lyft and truck drivers have emerged as among Waymo’s most vocal opponents. And Waymo’s attempts to court those unions have met with little success.

In January, the company approached the Illinois Teamsters with a legislative proposal to legalize its cars. Waymo has again floated the prospect of creating a fund for displaced workers.

“The questions about the future of work and automation when it comes to autonomous vehicles are really important questions,” said Mr. Kintz, Waymo’s chief executive. “These are long-term questions. But we want to engage with them now, before we get to the stage of potential disruption, because we want to try to put people at ease.”

But the union was skeptical that any fund would address its concerns given how many people drive for a living, said John T. Coli Jr., secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 727 in Chicago.

Lawmakers have failed to pass the proposal before the state legislative session ends this month.

In Washington, a major market where hundreds of federal politicians could use the services, the company adopted campaign-style tactics to overcome inertia.

Waymo first tested its cars in the nation’s capital with human drivers in 2024. However, the District of Columbia Council has not approved the operation of a commercial robo-taxi service.

So Waymo took matters into its own hands. In February, it launched a letter-writing campaign asking users to write to local officials. In mid-April, Waymo sponsored an event in the fashionable Union Market district, urging several dozen attendees to take Waymo’s case to officials.

Two weeks later, the chairman of the Council’s transportation committee introduced legislation that would allow Waymo to operate in the city.

But Waymo’s most significant political battle may lie in one of the world’s biggest ride-sharing markets: New York.

City and state officials have allowed Waymo to test its self-driving vehicles in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn since last year. But state lawmakers needed to update laws to allow driverless taxi service Waymo to offer rides to the public.

Mr. Mamdani, a Democrat, yes advocated for a long time for city taxi drivers. In January, at an event with many of those drivers, he said he was taking “the arrival of autonomous vehicles very seriously.”

Waymo initially found a more accommodating politician in Ms. Hochul. Her short-term proposal would legalize robo-taxis in a state outside of New York, where Mr. Mamdani must also bless their operations. But her office has said privately that backers of her proposal, such as Waymo, disagreed with the fierce campaign to repeal it, two people familiar with their efforts said.

A spokesman for Ms Hochula said: “It was clear that there was no support for this proposal.” Waymo said it will continue to push driverless vehicles in the state.

Waymo’s ability to test autonomous driving in New York expired on March 31. His cars are still cruising around the city collecting data – now fully driven by humans.

The company is playing the long game, Mr. Kintz said. “Every time someone from New York rides a Waymo in California, Phoenix or Miami,” it increases the likelihood that those riders will seek approval from lawmakers in their own city as their fear of missing out grows.

“That interest — that FOMO — will only grow as we grow,” he added.