Self-Driving Cars Could Be Regulated in NYC Under New Proposal

NYC Council Member Justin Brannan proposes self-driving cars be regulated with special licenses issued by the Taxi & Limousine Commission. Priority would be given to existing taxi medallion owners.

Under a proposed bill from Councilman Justin Brannan, companies like Uber, Lyft, Cruise and Waymo would need to get special licenses from the TLC in order to operate self-driving cars. In addition, Brannan’s plan calls for existing medallion owners to get priority to acquire the special licenses. Brannan is introducing the bill to City Council in the coming weeks according to the Daily News.

“When Uber and Lyft first came to the city, there were no laws in place to stop them from flooding the streets…We didn’t see them coming back then and I think today, we’re still paying the price. This is a way for us to get in front of it…If Uber and Lyft want to go AV, then they need to work with existing medallions…That would prevent them from creating another bubble and steamrolling us” - NYC Council Member Justin Brannan

It isn’t clear if the plan would also give a priority on self-driving licenses to FHV license owners.

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