New York withdraws robotaxi expansion proposal, halting Waymo’s upstate push

New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office withdrew a plan on Feb. 19, 2026 that would have amended state vehicle and traffic laws to permit limited commercial robotaxi services outside New York City, removing a potential regulatory pathway for companies such as Waymo. The move leaves in place a narrower state pilot program and confines commercial rollout prospects while Waymo continues testing in the city.

The draft language included multiple numeric guardrails: companies would have been barred from deploying for-hire autonomous vehicles in any city with more than one million residents, required approval from the state transportation commissioner, charged a $1 million application fee, and required proof of at least $5 million in financial security. The proposal would also have allowed pilots only where there was clear local support and sought to permit operations without human safety drivers under those conditions.

Hochul’s spokesman Sean Butler said the decision followed consultations with lawmakers and other stakeholders. “Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal,” he said.

The withdrawal is widely seen as a setback for Alphabet’s Waymo, which has been expanding testing and pursuing regulatory openings nationwide. Waymo responded that it was “disappointed” by the governor’s decision and told reporters, “We hear from thousands of New Yorkers who have experienced Waymo in other cities and want access to it at home.” Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana added that prior state interest created “an opportunity to grow more fans,” underscoring the company’s public pitch that consumer demand will drive broader adoption.

Waymo’s current authorization to test robotaxis in New York City remains in force. The company was granted permission last August to operate up to eight Jaguar I‑Pace vehicles in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn with a human safety operator in the driver’s seat. That limited testing is permitted through March 31, 2026, under city or state conditions.

Labor and taxi groups celebrated the pullback. Taxi Workers Alliance executive director Bhairavi Desai applauded the governor and called the decision “a sensible decision.” The Taxi Workers Alliance represents more than 28,000 yellow cab, Uber and Lyft drivers in the city. Unions, transit workers and ride-hailing drivers had warned that expanded robotaxi service could risk safety and cost thousands of driving jobs.

With the proposal removed, the existing state exemption-based pilot regime is expected to remain the operative framework. Under that program companies can seek narrowly defined exemptions from rules such as the one-hand-on-the-wheel requirement to test autonomous systems, but the program does not authorize commercial, driverless for-hire service outside the city.

Industry officials said the draft law would have offered a constrained but clearer statutory path for limited deployment upstate. Supporters argued that the fee and financial-security requirements, plus local signoff and commissioner oversight, would have contained risk. Opponents countered that any expansion threatened livelihoods and public safety.

The decision leaves Waymo and its rivals weighing whether to push for new legislative language, seek local approvals in individual municipalities, or continue focusing on testing and deployments in other U.S. markets. For now, the state’s more restrictive status quo will govern autonomous vehicle activity outside New York City.