Do self-driving vehicles have a future in New York?

New York City has self-driving cars. They only need two drivers each.

Three months ago, Brooklyn Navy Yard employees gained a new way of traveling around its sprawling campus. Optimus Ride, a free self-driving shuttle service, introduced a new service that allows riders to navigate between the Navy Yard entrance and the New York City Ferry Dock. The vehicles can stop pedestrians and bicyclists with the help of two safety drivers. One is in the driver’s chair, the other monitors a computer screen from the passenger seat. The shuttles are slow-moving and cautious, a far cry of KITT from “Knight Rider” and the countless self-driving cars featured in popular culture. Today’s riders would be forgiven for wondering why there is so much hype in Silicon Valley about autonomous vehicles.