NYC could soon have driverless cars on its roads

Waymo gears up for self-driving car tests in NYC

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced Wednesday that it has applied for a permit from the city’s Department of Transportation to launch a "small fleet" of self-driving cars for testing in Manhattan starting next month. FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso has the details.

NEW YORK CITY - Driverless taxis in New York City?

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Waymo's potential arrival in NYC

What we know:

Waymo, the company that provides driverless taxis, wants to bring its business to New York City this summer.

Google's parent company and owner of Waymo, Alphabet, announced it applied for a permit with the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) to test its autonomous vehicles.

If approved, the cars would have a specialist in the passenger seat to monitor their driving patterns – there would be no passengers, as current New York law prohibits vehicles that operate without a human driver.

Waymo is pushing for the state to change its laws, telling FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso, "We want to serve New Yorkers in the future, and we're looking forward to driving in the city this summer. We will continue to advocate for reforms that enable us to bring the safety benefits of our technology to the state."

NYC DOT's stance on autonomous vehicles

The DOT has a page on its website specifically regarding driverless vehicles.

"NYC DOT encourages innovation by facilitating the responsible testing of new technologies and services that may contribute to a safer, more equitable, more sustainable, and more efficient transportation system."

The department explains that applicants may test their driverless vehicles anywhere in the city, so long as they obtain approval first and there is a test vehicle operator present, to comply with state law.

New Yorkers' thoughts on the matter

What they're saying:

"Cars can glitch," one individual told Formoso. "Anything can happen."

"Just the traffic alone… the biking, the people – people don't even look up off their phones," another said.

Another group of New Yorkers hesitant on the cars' arrival: yellow cab drivers.

The Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents yellow cab, Uber and Lyft drivers, provided this statement:

FOX 5 NY is awaiting comment from the New York City Department of Transportation.

Big picture view:

Waymo in other cities

Waymo's driverless cars are on the roads in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin. 

Formoso spoke to a couple in NYC who recently rode in one of Waymo's self-driving taxis in San Francisco.

"I [felt safe], yes, by all means. I would love for them to test it here," one of the pair told her.