Uber driver Dinara Zhanpeissova drives through Queens, NY on Sep. 25, 2025. (Credit: Victor Heller)
Waymo, a driverless car company owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, tested eight autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and Brooklyn throughout September. In early October, the New York City Department of Transportation extended the company’s pilot program in New York until the end of 2025, and traditional cab drivers are getting nervous.
Although local legislation still requires a human safety driver behind the wheel of autonomous vehicles at all times of operation, the extended testing permit brings the company one step closer to establishing itself in the Big Apple.
Uber and Lyft drivers, scared for their jobs, have collected more than 7,700 signatures on a petition calling to ban self-driving cars across New York state. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents 21,000 members of New York yellow cab, green car, black car, livery and app-dispatched drivers, did not return multiple requests for comment.
The popularity of robotaxis in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix as well as partnerships between Uber, Lyft, and Waymo have drivers worried. According to a TIME report from June 2025, Waymo’s driverless cars are completing an overall of more than 250,000 paid rides per week — a figure that has doubled compared to last year.
Lyft is also planning a collaboration with Waymo in Nashville in 2026. In Austin and Atlanta, riders can already order a Waymo via the Uber app and select autonomous vehicles as a preference over cars with human drivers. Earlier this year, Uber announced an additional deal with automotive manufacturer Lucid and robotics company Nuro to build an own driverless car fleet in the future, leaving drivers with a sense of uncertainty.
“Self-driving vehicles pose real threats to all drivers,” said Michele Dottin, driver education director at the Independent Drivers Guild. “A majority of drivers don’t have appropriate qualifications for other jobs.”
Jonathan Dingel, an economics professor at Columbia University, is less concerned. “The skills required to drive for Uber and Lyft would be valued in other parts of the economy, so I would be optimistic about drivers substituting to other activities if demand for human drivers falls because of robotaxis.”
Priscilla Monteiro has been an Uber driver in New York City for nine years. Together with Arizona State University (ASU), Uber sponsored her degree in digital communication. Since its start, the Uber-ASU-partnership has produced over 1,100 graduates, according to an Instagram post by ASU from September 2024. The ASU enrollment center could not confirm a more up-to-date number upon request.
Although Monteiro thinks more drivers should take the opportunity to diversify their career alternatives, she is not scared of losing her driving job because of Waymo.
“Autonomous cabs only make sense for less congested areas,” she said. “New York has too many things that don’t adhere to rules. If at all, only human drivers can navigate this chaos.”
For now, New Yorkers remain cautious about the idea of being driven home by a driverless car.
A survey conducted for this article asked 65 New Yorkers what they would prefer and why, if they “could choose whether to get a free ride home with a Waymo robotaxi or an Uber/Lyft/taxi ride with a driver.”
More than two-thirds — 46 of 65 — said they prefer human drivers, citing safety as their main concern.
“I tried a driverless car once before and it was fun,” said William Keiser, one of the survey respondents. “But I don’t trust it enough not to hit a small child or to make a good decision in a difficult moment.”
About the author(s)
Victor Heller is a German multimedia journalist covering the politics of labor and business as well as culture in New York City.