Robotaxi in New Jersey: is there a driverless taxi yet?

Short answer: no, not as of November 2, 2026. No robotaxi company carries riders anywhere in New Jersey, including Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City and Paterson. Waymo has been driving parts of Jersey City, Hoboken and the area around Newark Liberty International Airport since 2025, but with a person behind the wheel, mapping and testing rather than selling rides. New Jersey also has no law that sets up driverless testing or paid driverless rides. A bill to create a three-year pilot, S1677, cleared a Senate committee in May 2026 and has not had a floor vote.

New Jersey robotaxi status, as of November 2, 2026

If you are near Newark or Hoboken and want a driverless ride, the nearest live services are in other states entirely. New York has no driverless law either, and Waymo’s New York City test permit expired on March 31, 2026; see our New York page. The current list of cities with driverless rides is on the US robotaxi map.

Is driverless driving legal in New Jersey?

New Jersey has not passed a law that sets up driverless testing or paid driverless rides. A 2019 joint resolution created a state task force on autonomous vehicles; its March 2020 report was largely set aside during the pandemic, according to New Jersey Monitor. That is why Waymo’s New Jersey cars have a driver in the seat.

What the S1677 pilot bill would do

S1677, sponsored by Senators Andrew Zwicker and Gordon Johnson, would create a three-year pilot program for fully autonomous vehicles, run by the state Department of Transportation with the Motor Vehicle Commission. The Assembly version is A3968. From the Senate committee substitute adopted May 11, 2026, a company in the pilot would have to:

• carry at least $5,000,000 in liability insurance, self-insurance or a surety bond;
• drive at least 50,000 miles on New Jersey public roads with a human driver and no major incident it caused before going driverless;
• equip each car with “a camera system and two distinct sensing modalities” that can still detect obstacles if the cameras fail;
• stay out of school zones, construction zones and high-collision pedestrian areas, and report qualifying crashes within five days; and
• get state authorization before carrying paying passengers or goods with no driver on board.

The sensor rule drew the most attention. Electrek and Repairer Driven News reported in July 2026 that it would rule out a camera-only system like Tesla’s as written, and Electrek reported that Tesla urged New Jersey owners to oppose the bill. Zwicker has said it covers fully driverless commercial fleets, not consumer driver-assist features like Autopilot or Full Self-Driving. Waymo testified in support at the Senate committee in May.

Timeline

What happens next

For S1677 or A3968 to become law, each needs to pass its full house, the two versions have to match, and Governor Mikie Sherrill has to sign. Even then, the pilot’s 50,000-mile human-driver phase comes before any driverless car, so paid driverless rides in New Jersey are not close. We will update this page when either bill moves.

For Cybercab owners in New Jersey

If you live in New Jersey and want to own a robotaxi, the car can only earn where driverless rides are allowed, which today means another state. Can you own a robotaxi in another state covers how that works, and can you buy a Tesla Cybercab yet covers what Tesla has and has not said about selling them.

DockDuty is building depots and fleet software for privately owned autonomous vehicles, market by market across the US. Orlando is our lead market, with its depot targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027, and we are planning locations in several more metros at the same time. There is no DockDuty site in New Jersey. A $450 stall reservation is fully refundable on request any time before onboarding, and it attaches to the DockDuty network, not one city.

Robotaxis in New Jersey: FAQ

Is there a robotaxi in New Jersey?

No, as of November 2, 2026. No company carries riders in a driverless car anywhere in New Jersey. Waymo has driven parts of Jersey City, Hoboken and the area around Newark Liberty International Airport since 2025, with human drivers.

Is Waymo in Newark?

Only for testing with a driver. Waymo announced on October 22, 2025 that it would begin manual testing at Newark Liberty International Airport with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It does not offer rides there.

Are self-driving cars legal in New Jersey?

New Jersey has no law that sets up driverless testing or paid driverless rides, so testing there has a person behind the wheel. S1677 and A3968 would create a three-year pilot; they cleared committees in May and June 2026 and have had no floor vote.

What is New Jersey bill S1677?

A bill by Senators Andrew Zwicker and Gordon Johnson to create a three-year pilot for fully autonomous vehicles, run by the Department of Transportation. It requires $5 million in insurance, 50,000 miles of human-driven testing in New Jersey, and a camera system plus two other sensor types. The Senate Transportation Committee advanced it on May 11, 2026.

Would the New Jersey bill ban Tesla robotaxis?

As written, the requirement for a camera system plus two distinct sensing types would rule out a camera-only system like Tesla’s, according to July 2026 reporting by Electrek and Repairer Driven News. The bill has not passed.