Waymo cars are coming to New York, but with a driver behind the wheel

Core Points - Waymo plans to begin manual driving of its vehicles in New York City, marking a significant step towards autonomous operations in the largest U.S. city [1][2] - The company has applied for a permit to operate autonomously with a trained specialist behind the wheel in Manhattan, which would be the first testing deployment of autonomous vehicles in the city if granted [2][3] - Waymo is advocating for a change in New York state law to allow for fully autonomous vehicle operation without a human driver [3] Expansion Plans - Waymo One, the company's ride-hailing service, currently provides over 250,000 paid trips weekly across cities like Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin [3] - The company is preparing to expand its fully autonomous ride services to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., by 2026 [3] Previous Testing - Waymo previously conducted manual driving and data collection in parts of New York City in 2021, which helped improve its driving capabilities in challenging weather conditions [4]