New York City has defeated Waymo, and the taxi lobby is the reason
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Waymo is blocked from operating in New York City despite a clean safety record during its testing period and 500,000 weekly rides across 10 other US cities. The barrier is political: Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to renew Waymo's testing permit, Governor Hochul withdrew a statewide robotaxi legalization proposal after backlash, and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance has framed the fight as a labor rights issue. Waymo has spent $1.8 million lobbying state officials since 2019 with little effect. A recent sixth recall — after robotaxis drove into highway construction zones 13 times — has given opponents additional ammunition. NYC represents Waymo's most valuable potential market, but the patchwork regulatory environment gives local politicians effective veto power, and none of Waymo's competitors (Tesla, Zoox, GM) are in New York either, suggesting industry-wide resistance rather than Waymo-specific opposition.
