MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11) — Ready or not, for the first time ever, driverless taxi cabs are coming to New York City streets.

The new pilot program permits the driverless company Waymo to operate eight driverless taxis in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. For now, Waymo will have to have a human driver in its cars to monitor the rides.

Outraged taxi and livery drivers protested in Midtown, saying the driverless taxis are dangerous and will put real drivers out of business. Waymo is owned by Google, and driverless rides are already up and running in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta.

NYC has an estimated 200,000 livery, black car, and yellow taxi drivers who worry this could be the beginning of the end for their livelihoods.

Waymo responded to PIX 11 with this statement

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