New York City has defeated Waymo, and the taxi lobby is the reason

TL;DR

Waymo is blocked from NYC by Mayor Mamdani, the taxi lobby, and labor unions. Governor Hochul withdrew her statewide robotaxi proposal after outcry.

Waymo delivers more than 500,000 paid rides per week across 10 US cities, raised $16 billion in February, and is expanding internationally to Tokyo and London. It cannot operate in New York City.

The reason is not technical, it is political.

As the New York Times reported this week, opposition from local politicians, labor unions, and an influential taxi lobby has stopped the Google-owned robotaxi company from entering the country’s largest and most lucrative ride-hailing market. The roadblocks are structural, not temporary.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced a budget...

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