Robotaxi Expansion Runs Into a Patchwork of Federal, State and Local Rules

As driverless taxis spread across U.S. cities, they are colliding with a fractured regulatory landscape in which no single level of government sets the rules, leaving operators to navigate conflicting requirements from Washington down to city councils. Reporting published on July 15, 2026, describes how the traditional division of authority—federal oversight of vehicle safety standards, states over driver licensing, and municipalities over road use—has grown blurry in an era when the vehicle itself is the driver.Axios