Waymo will test robotaxis south of 112th Street in Manhattan and in Downtown Brooklyn with up to eight self-driving vehicles through the end of September. A human driver will be behind the wheel during mapping of the designated geofence. New York introduces unique operational challenges not encountered in Phoenix, including heavy congestion in mapped areas. Waymo previously received 589 San Francisco parking tickets in 2024 for actions like dropping off in commercial loading zones, brief between-trip parking, blocking traffic, and ignoring street cleaning schedules. Waymo has not disclosed a New York facility location, and facility efficiency for cleaning and charging will be vital.
New York City's mayor's office and Department of Transportation have permitted Waymo to begin testing its robotaxis south of 112th Street in Manhattan and in Downtown Brooklyn. The initial rollout will include a self-driving fleet of up to eight vehicles through the end of September. During this testing phase, a human driver will be behind the wheel as Waymo maps the streets of its designated operational areas, or geofence.
In 2024, Waymo collected 589 San Francisco parking tickets, which represents less than 1% of the city's total tickets that year, but the nature of these citations will likely carry over into New York City. Waymo has attributed its San Francisco tickets to vehicles dropping off passengers in commercial loading zones when alternative drop-off areas were congested main roads or a spot too far from the rider's destination, along with brief parking between trips when cars were too far from Waymo's facility.
As of now, Waymo hasn't publicly disclosed a location for its fleet's New York facility, but congestion is a constant factor in the city-especially in the two areas where the company is mapping. If Waymo progresses to actual rideshare testing in New York with passengers, you can expect to see social media posts or news stories about its vehicles occasionally causing trouble, like blocking traffic.
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