Waymo’s autonomous taxis are set to hit Dallas next year.
Dallas is joining a select group of prospective U.S. markets that will introduce the driverless taxi service in 2026. Alphabet’s Waymo is bringing the autonomous vehicles to the Big D in a partnership with Avis Budget Group.
“Our partnership with Waymo marks a pivotal milestone in our evolution, from a rental car company to a leading provider of fleet management, infrastructure and operations to the broader mobility ecosystem,” said Avis CEO Brian Choi in a July 28 announcement.
While the service is not set to kick off until next year, Waymo is already making its way through Dallas streets. The company has begun testing its Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicles using the Waymo Driver system in the city’s downtown core.
Once publicly available, people in Dallas will be able to hail a driverless vehicle using the Waymo app. Already, the company says it’s conducting more than a quarter of a million paid weekly trips in its active markets, including Austin.
“We look forward to bringing our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the people of Dallas next year, offering a new era of safe and seamless transportation,” said Waymo’s co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana.
“Working together with our fleet partner Avis, Waymo will offer more riders a stress-free way to get around.”
In the announcement from Waymo, the company said its autonomous vehicles offer an opportunity to improve road safety in collaboration with the City of Dallas toward reaching its Vision Zero goals. Despite the campaign’s ambitious target to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and cut severe injury crashes by half by the end of the decade, Dallas persists as one of the most dangerous municipalities for drivers and pedestrians alike.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express reported that Tesla had launched its robotaxi service in Texas and California. At the time, Elon Musk said the pilot program was available for a select group of Tesla employees in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.