Boston, according to Waymo[1], is dependent on the legislature making autonomous vehicles legal. Apparently NY state laws also require a human driver at the wheel.

The only surprising thing about this is that other states did not require changes in law. It's Good, Actually, that big companies are (sometimes) bound by the same laws that bind the rest of us.

In any case, there are more than 2-3 "blue" states. We can note that it's also not running in cold "red" states either. The climate angle fits the data best and aligns with what Waymo says, which aligns with what we have known about the tech for at least a decade.

(That note also suggests they are still testing their cold-weather kit and are not quite ready.)

1 - https://waymo.com/blog/shorts/back-to-boston/

Waymo can't launch anywhere in NY state due to state law, but by all means, trot out your favorite whipping boy.

I personally saw a Waymo in NYC on June 26th at 14th St and 8th Avenue, so they’ve done some recent testing at least.

NYC's government is focused on maximizing the pain and inconvenience for its citizens. So this tracks.