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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Although we still have some time before we see driverless cars in every city, testing has already begun on New York City streets.
As shared in a post on X by Waymo, a driverless rideshare service, the company has begun testing in the city.
“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,” the post stated.
Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, has begun mapping out city streets with drivers remaining behind the wheel due to state restrictions, according to a report by the New York 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
A spokesperson for the city Department of Transportation reportedly told the Post that Waymo submitted its DOT application in June.
Until there is a change in the law, however, Waymo is unable to deploy its fully driverless fleet.
READ MORE: Moove Looks to Expand to US With Waymo Fleet
A couple of state bills introduced in January are currently “stuck in committee,” the Post reported.
One such bill introduced in the state Senate proposes the legalization of a fully autonomous vehicle to drive on New York roads without a human driver provided that “the automated driving system is engaged and the vehicle meets certain conditions.”
Until the law changes, testing is underway to map out the terrain of Brooklyn and Manhattan in an effort to improve Waymo’s artificial intelligence, the report said.
A company rep also clarified to the Post that the service won’t be providing rides to the general public during this testing phase.
“The data to date shows that Waymo outperforms human drivers, significantly reducing the frequency of injury-causing traffic collisions,” the Waymo rep said in the report.
Waymo already has driverless vehicles navigating a handful of other U.S. cities.
Through March 2025, Waymo vehicles have driven 71 million rider-only miles (no driver onboard). In tracking data, Waymo claims its vehicles are safer than human operators.
In comparing its vehicles to the “average human driver’ over the same distance in the operating cities, Waymo shared that it had 78% fewer injury-causing collisions and 93% fewer pedestrian collisions with injuries.
