The rules that decide when New York gets robotaxis
Every bill, permit and rulemaking that matters, across seven jurisdictions, in plain English — with who's for, who's against and what the last action was. Need hearing calendars, comment deadlines and memos the same day they drop? That's the Regulatory Monitor.
Most recent actions
| Date | Jurisdiction | Item | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-15 | New Jersey | Waymo — Newark Airport mapping Waymo / Port Authority | Manual testing | Announced |
| 2026-08-05 | Pennsylvania / Philadelphia | Waymo Philadelphia — commercial launch Waymo / PennDOT / Philadelphia Parking Authority | Allow | Testing — commercial possible late 2026 |
| 2026-07-13 | Washington, DC | DC Council — Autonomous vehicle ride-hail bill CM Charles Allen (Ward 6) | Allow (capped) | Hearing held July 13, 2026; vote expected fall/winter 2026 |
| 2026-07-09 | New Jersey | A3968 — Sensor requirements NJ Assembly | Restrict (camera-only) | Introduced |
| 2026-05-15 | New York State | S10413 — Autonomous taxicab licensing (NYC) Sen. Kristen Gonzalez (Assembly: Micah Lasher) | Regulate via TLC | In Senate Transportation Committee |
| 2026-05-15 | New York State | S10473 — Fully autonomous vehicle pilot (Albany & Rensselaer) Sen. Patricia Fahy (Assembly: Brian Cunningham sponsors the allow-with-conditions approach) | Allow (pilot) | In Senate Transportation Committee |
| 2026-05-11 | New Jersey | S1677 — Autonomous vehicle pilot program NJ Senate (Transportation Committee) | Allow (pilot) | Passed Senate Transportation Committee (unanimous) |
| 2026-03-31 | New York City | NYC DOT AV Testing Permit — Waymo NYC DOT | Supervised testing | Expired — not renewed |
New York State
BlockedVehicle & Traffic Law §1226 requires a driver to keep at least one hand on the wheel. The 2017 AV demonstration program (renewed each budget) allows supervised testing by exemption only — no commercial driverless service anywhere in the state.
FY2027 Executive Budget — AV proposal
Would have legalized commercial robotaxi service statewide except in cities over 1 million (i.e., not NYC), with a $1M deployment fee, $5M financial-security requirement, DOT commissioner approval and local-support showing.
Read: Pulled after the Legislature and labor (TWU Local 100, NY Taxi Workers Alliance, Teamsters) signaled no support. Hochul's office: 'it was clear that the support was not there.'
S9038A — 'Take the Wheel Act'
Requires a human driver physically present and engaged behind the wheel of every for-hire vehicle; explicitly prohibits automated-driving-system operation without a driver.
Read: Amended and recommitted March 6, 2026. The labor-backed vehicle for a statutory ban.
S10413 — Autonomous taxicab licensing (NYC)
Any autonomous vehicle used for taxi, livery or ride-share service in a city of 1M+ must hold a new NYC TLC autonomous-taxicab license — available only to medallion owners — with safety, insurance, wheelchair-accessibility, emissions and trip-data rules.
Read: Effectively hands the robotaxi franchise to the medallion system. The most consequential bill for operators' NYC business model.
S10473 — Fully autonomous vehicle pilot (Albany & Rensselaer)
Authorizes fully driverless vehicles under 10,000 lbs, including on-demand AV networks, in Albany and Rensselaer counties through July 1, 2028, with law-enforcement interaction plans, owner liability, insurance and crash-reporting rules.
Read: The 'start upstate' template. If any pro-AV bill moves in 2027, expect it to look like this.
New York City
No active permitsNYC DOT runs the city's AV testing permit program (announced Aug 2025). Waymo held the only permit — 8 vehicles, safety specialists required, Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn — and it lapsed March 31, 2026 without renewal under Mayor Mamdani.
NYC DOT AV Testing Permit — Waymo
Permitted up to 8 Waymo Jaguar I-Paces with trained safety specialists behind the wheel, Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn.
Read: Mayor Mamdani, a Taxi Workers Alliance ally, chose not to renew. Streetsblog and City Council members have called for a regulatory framework before the next application.
NYC TLC — autonomous vehicle rules
TLC has no license category for driverless vehicles. State bill S10413 would require it to create one.
Read: Watch for TLC rulemaking notices and Council hearings on for-hire vehicle automation.
New Jersey
AdvancingNo AV statute today. Two live bills: a three-year pilot program with unanimous Senate committee support, and an Assembly bill that would exclude camera-only systems.
S1677 — Autonomous vehicle pilot program
Three-year pilot with a task force on crashes, cyberattacks, liability and pedestrians; human driver required in the initial phase, driverless allowed after an incident-free period; $5M insurance per vehicle; no trucks; no school, construction or high-pedestrian zones.
Read: Assembly companion awaits the Science, Innovation & Technology Committee.
A3968 — Sensor requirements
Would require redundant sensing (lidar/radar) for autonomous operation, effectively excluding Tesla's camera-only Robotaxi and Cybercab while permitting Waymo, Zoox and others.
Read: First East Coast bill to pick a sensor winner. Directly shapes which operators can cross the Hudson.
Waymo — Newark Airport mapping
Human-driven mapping runs at EWR ahead of any NJ pilot.
Read: EWR-to-Manhattan is the single most valuable robotaxi route in the region.
Pennsylvania / Philadelphia
Legal — launch pendingAct 130 of 2022 gives PennDOT authority to certify driverless operation without a safety driver. Waymo has tested in Philadelphia since August 2025 and could launch commercially by end of 2026.
Waymo Philadelphia — commercial launch
Driverless testing underway; PennDOT certification and PPA taxi rules in progress. City Council has raised job and safety concerns.
Read: The nearest robotaxi New Yorkers will be able to ride: ~90 minutes by Amtrak.
Washington, DC
Legislation pendingCouncilmember Charles Allen's bill would authorize robotaxis with a proposed 200-vehicle cap, a per-mile fee funding Metro and displaced drivers, and backup-power requirements. Council vote expected fall/winter 2026; service not before 2028.
DC Council — Autonomous vehicle ride-hail bill
200-vehicle cap (Waymo lobbying against), VMT fee, backup power, revenue split to WMATA and driver-transition fund.
Read: Waymo has leased three DC depots (32,000 sq ft flagship) and says it is investing 'tens of millions'.
Connecticut & Massachusetts
DormantConnecticut's 2017 pilot law (P.A. 17-69) allows testing in up to four municipalities with a driver present; no active robotaxi program. Massachusetts has no AV statute; Boston hosts Motional's HQ and past testing under a city MOU.
CT Fully Autonomous Vehicle Testing Pilot (P.A. 17-69)
Municipal opt-in testing with an operator in the driver's seat.
Read: Stamford / New Haven are the plausible first movers given Metro-North commuter demand.
Massachusetts — no AV statute
Testing has occurred under executive order and Boston MOUs; no commercial pathway.
Read: Waymo has listed Boston among future markets.
The coalition map
Against
TWU Local 100 · NY Taxi Workers Alliance (Bhairavi Desai: "Waymo is underestimating us. We are organized.") · International Brotherhood of Teamsters · Sen. Sepúlveda / AM Reyes (Take the Wheel Act) · Mayor Mamdani (declined to renew Waymo's permit)
Conditional
Sen. Gonzalez / AM Lasher (TLC licensing, medallion-only) · Gov. Hochul (proposed, then withdrew; needs labor for other priorities) · NYC DOT (permit authority; framework TBD) · Streetsblog & safe-streets advocates (rules first)
For
Sen. Fahy (upstate pilot) · AM Cunningham (allow with conditions) · Waymo ("thousands of New Yorkers… want access at home") · Uber and its AV partners · Chamber of Progress and tech trade groups · Disability-access advocates (split)