NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Governor Kathy Hochul has pulled a proposal that would have allowed for commercial robotaxi services outside New York City, a blow to Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo as it seeks to aggressively expand its driverless fleet this year.
The proposal, which Hochul had included in a policy preview she presented last month, would have allowed autonomous-vehicle companies such as Waymo to apply for permission to pilot their services without human operators in the vehicle. The decision to withdraw the plan was confirmed Thursday by the governor’s office to Bloomberg News.
“While we are disappointed by the Governor’s decision, we’re committed to bringing our service to New York and will work with the state legislature to advance this issue,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement provided to Bloomberg.
The move is a setback for Waymo, which is planning to hit more than 1 million paid weekly robotaxi rides in the US by the end of this year. The company has said it plans to expand across 20 cities in 2026 in the US and abroad, including in Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando, Nashville and London. Although Hochul’s initial proposal excluded New York City, expanding in the rest of the state would have gotten Waymo a step closer to serving one of the biggest ride-hailing markets in the world.
Shares of Alphabet briefly fell as much as 1% after the news, but has since recovered to be little changed. Shares of Tesla Inc., which has begun offering robotaxi services at a small scale in the US, fell as much as 1.8%.
Waymo Co-Chief Executive Tekedra Mawakana told Bloomberg Television last week that the state had shown interest in launching robotaxis. Even if it was outside New York City, “that gives us an opportunity to grow more fans,” she said, adding that some consumers of the service have been calling for robotaxis in the city.
“We hear from thousands of New Yorkers who have experienced Waymo in other cities and want access to it at home,” the spokesperson added. “They want the safety, privacy and comfort that riders in other major cities already enjoy.”
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