Why Cities Shouldn’t Fall For the Robotaxi Hype
Transportation historian Peter Norton sees a pattern in the promises that autonomous vehicle companies make as they push self-driving cars into cities.
A Waymo self-driving car testing in Manhattan in December 2025.
Photographer: Charly Triballeau/AFP
On March 31, New York City ended its first experiment with robotaxis, as a modest pilot of eight autonomous vehicles operated by the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Waymo was allowed to expire. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is showing no eagerness to revive it — let alone begin a broader deployment. Even as Waymo and rival robotaxi companies Zoox and Tesla announce expansions into cities from Seattle to Miami, New York City’s driverless future remains very much in doubt.
Boosters of autonomous vehicles have castigated Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who in February withdrew a proposal to permit commercial AV companies to operate elsewhere in the state, for shutting the door to a technology that can supposedly boost safety, smooth traffic and eliminate parking headaches. But University of Virginia historian Peter Norton believes New York’s leaders are wise to tread carefully.