Anabelle Colaco
27 Aug 2025, 13:19 GMT+10
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Alphabet's Waymo has secured its first permit to test autonomous vehicles in New York City. This allows the company to begin trials in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn as it expands its robotaxi operations across the U.S.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez confirmed the approval on August 22, saying Waymo will operate a limited number of vehicles with trained specialists behind the wheel to comply with state law.
While the cars will run in self-driving mode, state regulations require a human operator to be present at all times and ready to take control if needed.
Until now, Waymo has only conducted manual driving in the city. The company first brought vehicles to Manhattan in 2021 for mapping, data collection, and early testing, and resumed manual driving in July as it prepared for broader trials.
The approval marks a significant milestone for Waymo, which has been steadily scaling its fleet in the face of growing competition. Tesla, for instance, launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June, with ambitions to cover half of the U.S. population by the end of 2025.
Waymo currently operates about 1,500 vehicles and has completed more than 10 million rides in five major cities, including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin.
Get a daily dose of Austin Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Austin Globe.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Alphabet's Waymo has secured its first permit to test autonomous vehicles in New York City. This allows the...
TOKYO, Japan: Matcha, the finely ground green tea powder long associated with Japan's centuries-old tea ceremony, has become a global...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks advanced Tuesday despite another attempt by President Donald Trump to undermine the Federal Reserve...
SARASOTA, Florida, - Trump Media and Technology Group Corp, operator of the social media platform Truth Social, the streaming platform...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government will take a nearly 10 percent equity stake in Intel, converting billions of dollars in federal...
DAMASCUS, Syria: Syria is preparing a sweeping overhaul of its battered currency, with plans to issue new banknotes that drop two zeros...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Sony increased the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. by about US$50 from August 21, citing tariff...
(Photo credit: David Richard-Imagn Images) Parker Messick struck out six over seven innings for his first win in the majors as the...
(Photo credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images) Michael Helman, Kyle Higashioka and Corey Seager had home runs to help Patrick Corbin post...
(Photo credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images) Clayton Kershaw went five strong innings and Enrique Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run...
(Photo credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images) Michael Helman, Kyle Higashioka and Corey Seager had home runs to help Patrick Corbin post...
(Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images) Matt Wallner hit a three-run homer in a four-run ninth inning and the visiting Minnesota...
