June 22, 2026 - No Robotaxis For New York

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for June 22, 2026, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry. 

Getting around New York City by car has always been challenging. With a population density of 29,300 people per square mile and a lot of relatively narrow streets, the combination of delivery vehicles, refuse trucks and emergency vehicles, and personal vehicles creates a lot of congestion. Following the addition of ride-hailing to the city's traditional yellow cab fleet, the average speed in the city dropped to only about 8 mph. 

That population density and relatively straightforward grid layout of the streets have long made New York a prime target for developers of robotaxis. However, it now appears that robotaxis won't be displacing yellow cabs, black cars, and ride-hailing anytime soon. GM's former Cruise subsidiary had targeted testing its automated vehicles in the city back in 2018, but never received approval. Mobileye did some testing several years ago, and Waymo got approval for testing up to eight vehicles in the fall of 2025. 

After initially getting support from New York Governor Kathy Hochul as part of her 2026 budget proposal, Hochul dropped the plan to legalize robotaxis in the state.  Politicians like Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have received a lot of negative feedback on plans for automated vehicles, particularly from labor organizations supporting existing human drivers. Mandani has said he would weigh the interests of drivers in determining any future rules governing the technology. Similar push-back has been coming in Illinois and Washington DC, neither of which has approved these vehicles for commercial deployment. 

With the complete absence of any federal safety regulations governing automated driving technology, state and local officials who are responsible for licensing and registration of drivers, who are now computers, must make their own decisions about who to approve for deployment. Republican-controlled states like Texas have taken a more hands-off approach, while New York, Illinois, and other states have been more wary.  Given the recent safety problems with Waymo vehicles, including ignoring school buses and not slowing down in construction zones, the challenge of winning over politicians and regulators is unlikely to get any easier soon. 

Thanks for listening.