This piece was a winning entry into the 2026 MoCo Student Journalism Contest, written by Mia Strollo of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.
When speaking on the possible implementation of driverless-cars in New York City, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal rolled his eyes and exclaimed facetiously, “What could go wrong?”
President Hoylman-Sigal explained that his wariness about autonomous vehicles (AVs) relates to traffic, safety concerns, and potential job losses for taxi and rideshare drivers. As someone who worked closely on congestion pricing in the city, he added that “I find it a little difficult to square our policy goal of reducing traffic with Waymo, which would be adding traffic.”
Safety is his main concern. He understands that an accident can set robotaxis back: “one serious injury, or, God forbid, a fatality. It would be enough to tank the entire industry, at least for some time.”
His reluctance is reflected by New York City politicians and residents alike. While Waymo has succeeded in major west-coast cities and is expanding, its efforts have met resistance when it comes to implementation in New York.
Waymo, founded in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car project, is now valued at $126 billion and provides 450,000 paid robotaxi rides per week across 11 major U.S. cities, according to Reuters.
Following its successes in cities in California and Texas, the company started mapping out other major cities such as Chicago, D.C., and New York. In the official Waymo blog Waypoint, the company wrote that it was “entering a new chapter and accelerating our commercial expansion.”
Beginning in 2019, Waymo has spent close to $2 million lobbying Gov. Kathy Hochul, state senators, assemblymen, staffers, and city officials to bring robotaxis to NYC. Waymo has used traditional lobbying in the past, but now it is looking to expedite the process. In mid-June, the company created a political action committee called Upward NY, with the goal of influencing political officials and candidates.
While lobbing might sway some politicians, Council Member Gale Brewer of District 4 explained, “lobby groups don’t bother me.” CM Brewer added, “this city council is very sophisticated. They listen to the lawyers and the advocates in New York City, not to a PAC.”
In January, CM Brewer introduced Bill Int. 0094 which will slow AV implementation in NYC. Instead of banning AV’s, CM Brewer said that “the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which oversees the taxis, has to have extensive research before any driverless taxis are even considered in the city of New York.”
If passed, Bill Int. 0094 will empower city regulators to integrate AVs into the NYC taxi industry by establishing a formal licensing and safety framework, whereas its failure would leave robotaxis unregulated at the local level.
Compared to other cities, CM Brewer said that New York City poses unique problems: “it’s very difficult right now to have in our very complicated city with dog walkers, people in different modes of e-bikes, regular bikes, pedestrians, people with walkers and wheelchairs and everything else.”
While Waymo robotaxis have succeeded in driving-reliant cities such as San Francisco, the number of pedestrians and jay-walkers in NYC could create problems for the cars and confuse the AI. Restaurant Manager Scott Bravman, 25, at Parm Upper West Side, reiterated this idea: “I only hear about Waymo when there’s a car going wrong, and it just stopping.”
On Tik Tok, “Waymo car fails” receive millions of views and foster doubt among locals. Notable examples of incidents include driving through car accident scenes, blocking emergency trucks after an Austin mass shooting, and driving into an active LA fire. Following these issues, Waymo has quickly apologized, moving forward while firmly defending their cars, writing in their safety impact page that “the data to date indicate the Waymo Driver is already making roads safer in the places where we currently operate.”
Other NYC natives keep open minds about the future of transportation. Lifelong resident Jeremy Raphael, 46, said that “I welcome the city and people living in the city trying something new, seeing if the technology could be safer, faster, cleaner, better for pollution, and better for riders.”
Mr. Raphael also emphasized what safety looks like in an AV, noting that “I would imagine that we have to think about safety from two perspectives. Safety of pedestrians, and the safety of the rider.”
New York City tourist and Chicago resident Michael Bornhorst, 53, had another perspective. He mentioned, “in LA, my friends tell me that they feel safer putting their kids in Waymos than in taxis or in Ubers, because at least their children wouldn’t be in a vehicle with a strange person.”
When he visits LA, Mr. Bornhorst’s preference “would be to take a Waymo before an Uber.” He explained that Waymo provides “a very comfortable experience,” and their “service is more reliable than Ubers. Waymos will be there when they tell me they will.”
Currently, NYC TLC reports over 13,000 licensed taxis in NYC with over 50,000 drivers. According to NYC Council Committee Hearings, taxi cab medallions, which grant a vehicle the legal right to pick up passengers, currently cost between $90,000 and $200,000, which creates competition for business and return on investment. This conflict will worsen if AV’s have the opportunity to fight both local cab drivers and rideshare company drivers for customers.
According to YipitData and Bond Capital, Waymo accounted for over 25% of rideshare in San Francisco in April 2025, and has continued to grow. As a result, Waymos have overtaken Lyfts, while Uber remains the most used rideshare method. If this growth continues, Waymo has the potential to dominate rideshare and continue to beat out human drivers.
Mr. Bravman expressed worry about the potential job loss for taxi and Uber drivers if Waymo comes to NYC. He explained that New York is “a very hustle and grind city,” and taking jobs away from New Yorkers serves no purpose.
He added that “even if it costs more, I’d rather pay for a normal driver.”
Written by Mia Strollo
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons