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Taxi and livery drivers rallied outside Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Manhattan office Monday to protest the city’s decision to allow Waymo to test self-driving cars in parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.
Members of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers warned that autonomous vehicles could threaten the livelihoods of more than 200,000 drivers citywide.
“Anyone supporting driverless vehicles is an enemy of the transportation industry in New York City,” said Fernando Mateo, the federation’s president. “All the car companies are concerned. They are worried. The yellow medallions have been decimated by the ride-share companies. And now everyone wants to decimate what currently exists.”
The demonstration came days after Mayor Eric Adams’ administration granted Waymo a permit to test up to eight vehicles through late September. Under city rules, each vehicle must have a trained specialist behind the wheel at all times. Officials emphasized that driverless cars cannot yet be used for business in the five boroughs.
Still, some in the industry believe testing is a step toward legalization.
“My concern is that it is going to put our drivers out of business and many of our companies out of business,” said Chanel Hernandez, owner of AKI Mobility, a black car service. “We already have a lot of saturation in this industry, for many years now, with ride share companies coming in.”
Opponents also raised concerns about safety in one of the nation’s busiest traffic environments.
“Self-driving taxi in congested New York. So much people, so much traffic. It doesn’t make sense,” said one driver.
But some New Yorkers welcomed the technology, citing positive experiences with Waymo vehicles in other cities.
“You don’t have to worry about interacting with another person and they never mess up,” said one supporter.
A spokesperson for Hochul said public safety is a top priority and that state law requires strict permitting procedures for autonomous vehicle testing.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, said in a statement it “remains committed to listening to and working with the New York community to complement their transportation ecosystem, adding more access and safety to roads.”
Meanwhile, City Hall said Adams “will always stand with the taxi industry” while supporting efforts to modernize transportation.