Waymo Expands Autonomous Vehicle Testing to Philadelphia and New York City
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has announced the launch of two "road trips" to Philadelphia and New York City, signaling its interest in expanding its autonomous vehicle testing to Northeastern cities. These road trips are part of Waymo's strategy to map out new cities and improve its autonomous driving system. Waymo's road trips typically involve sending a small fleet of human-driven vehicles equipped with its autonomous driving system to map out the new city. The company then tests the vehicles autonomously, with a human behind the wheel, before taking any data and learnings back to its engineers to improve the AI driver's performance. In Philadelphia, Waymo plans to place vehicles in the most complex parts of the city, including downtown and on freeways, according to a spokesperson. The company will drive its cars manually in various Philadelphia neighborhoods, including North Central, Eastwick, University City, and as far east as the Delaware River. In New York City, Waymo will drive its cars manually in Manhattan, just north of Central Park down to The Battery, and parts of Downtown Brooklyn. The company will also map parts of Jersey City and Hoboken in New Jersey. Waymo applied last month for a permit to test its autonomous vehicles in New York City with a human behind the wheel, but has not yet received approval. This isn't Waymo's first time in New York City. The company initially deployed a small fleet of vehicles in late 2021 to map parts of Manhattan and New Jersey. Waymo also took a road trip to Buffalo earlier this year to test its self-driving technology in wintery conditions. While Waymo continues to expand its autonomous vehicle testing, the road to commercial deployment is still long. New York City's regulations currently do not allow operators to deploy self-driving vehicles with no human in the front seat, a law that Waymo is advocating to change. Waymo's continued testing across the country is anchored by its current commercial robotaxi services offered in Atlanta, Austin, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The company plans to launch its services in Miami this year and Washington, D.C. in 2026.
