Waymo Is Expanding to Dallas. Everything to Know About the Robotaxi

Self-driving automobiles are slowly changing into less sci-fi and more real-world as firms like Waymo, the autonomous arm of Google’s dad or mum Alphabet, increase into extra cities. On Monday, the corporate shared it is planning to make its robotaxi service out there in Dallas by a partnership with Avis Funds Group, which can handle the fleet. Waymo has already begun early testing there, and says it plans to supply public rides within the metropolis subsequent 12 months. 

Waymo at present operates totally autonomous rides for most people in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin, Texas, which happen aboard the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace. The autos may be summoned both by way of the Waymo One app or Uber, relying on town. Waymo plans to start providing rides in Washington, DC, and Miami beginning in 2026. In April, it stated it’s going to start driving its autos on Tokyo’s streets, making this the corporate’s first international location.

Earlier this month, Waymo’s autos additionally arrived on the streets of New York City, the place the corporate will start by manually amassing driving knowledge. It is also rolling out a restricted fleet of autos with human drivers in Philadelphia. The objective is to develop its know-how and presumably increase its ride-hailing service to these cities sometime.

In January, Waymo introduced it might start testing with manually pushed autos in 10 new cities this 12 months, beginning with Las Vegas and San Diego. And in April, it stated it reached a preliminary agreement with Toyota to “discover a collaboration” geared towards creating autonomous driving tech, which may sometime be factored into personally owned autos. 

Waymo’s growth extends to its manufacturing services as nicely. In Might, the corporate stated it is opening a new, 239,000-square-foot autonomous automobile manufacturing facility within the Phoenix space. The plan is so as to add 2,000 extra totally autonomous Jaguar I-Tempo autos to its present 1,500-vehicle fleet. Notably, Waymo indicated it acquired its “final delivery from Jaguar” earlier this 12 months, because it plans for future iterations of its driverless rides. Waymo added that the “facility’s versatile design” will permit it to combine its upcoming sixth-generation self-driving know-how into new autos, beginning with the all-electric Zeekr RT. 

In October, Waymo additionally introduced that it is partnering with Hyundai to carry the following era of its know-how into Ioniq 5 SUVs. Within the years to return, riders will be capable to summon these all-electric, autonomous autos utilizing the Waymo One app. 

The self-driving firm says it gives greater than 250,000 paid journeys every week and drives throughout greater than 700 sq. miles throughout the US. I’ve hailed a number of rides myself in San Francisco and, as off-putting as it might appear at first (particularly to see a steering wheel flip by itself), I shortly adjusted, and it quickly felt like an unusual experience.

That is to not say there hasn’t been pushback as Waymo rolls out to extra cities. The corporate’s autos have been concerned in a handful of high-profile collisions, together with one with a bicyclist in San Francisco and one other with a towed pickup truck in Phoenix. (Waymo recalled and updated its software to handle the difficulty.) 

Waymo’s Safety Impact report notes that over the course of 71 million autonomous miles pushed by March 2025, its Waymo Driver know-how had 88% fewer crashes resulting in critical accidents or worse and 78% fewer injury-causing crashes, in contrast with “a median human driver over the identical distance in our working cities.” It additionally reported considerably fewer crashes with accidents to pedestrians (93%), cyclists (81%) and motorcyclists (86%).

As Waymo continues to increase and develop its self-driving tech, this is how and the place to summon the robotaxi if you happen to occur to be in one of many few cities the place the corporate at present operates its fleet. 

Watch this: Testing Waymo’s Protected Exit Characteristic in a Self-Driving Taxi

05:29

Hailing a experience in Phoenix

Phoenix was the first city to open up totally autonomous Waymo rides to the general public, in 2020. To hail a experience, obtain the Waymo One app on iOS or Android. The service operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

You too can use the Uber app to summon certainly one of Waymo’s autos in Phoenix. While you request an UberX, Uber Inexperienced, Uber Consolation or Uber Consolation Electrical experience, you may have the selection to verify a Waymo experience, if you happen to’re matched. 

Along with hailing a ride, you might also have your Uber Eats meal delivered by an autonomous car. When putting an order within the Phoenix space, you may get a word that “autonomous autos might ship your order.” When the Waymo automobile arrives, take your telephone with you to pop open the trunk and seize your supply. You may choose out of this throughout checkout if you happen to’d moderately have a human ship your meals.

Hailing a experience within the San Francisco Bay Space

San Francisco adopted go well with after Phoenix, rolling out fully autonomous rides in late 2022. It scrapped the waiting list in June 2024, so now anybody can obtain the Waymo One app to experience anytime. The service additionally operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week. There’s at present no Uber partnership in San Francisco. 

In August 2024, Waymo expanded its ride-hailing service into the San Francisco Peninsula, and expanded once more in March in order that choose Waymo One riders who reside in Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto and components of Sunnyvale have the choice to hail a robotaxi there, too. In June, it expanded further into the Peninsula, and its service space now consists of Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Daly Metropolis, Broadmoor and Colma. Choose riders can now additionally entry Mountain View and extra components of Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

In Might, the California Public Utilities Fee approved Waymo’s application to function in South Bay and practically all of San Jose, opening up the door to future expansions. 

Hailing a experience in Los Angeles County

In November, Waymo scrapped its waitlist for Los Angeles and commenced welcoming all public riders by way of the Waymo One app. Now any passengers can hop within the robotaxis 24/7 and experience throughout practically 120 sq. miles of LA County, together with Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Silver Lake, Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park and Downtown LA, and alongside all of Sundown Boulevard. 

There’s at present no Uber partnership in Los Angeles.

Hailing a experience in Austin

Riders can hail a Waymo throughout 90 sq. miles of Austin, together with neighborhoods like Crestview, Windsor Park and Franklin Park and places like The Area and McKinney Falls State Park. There are greater than 100 Waymo autos within the metropolis, with plans for additional growth. 

In Austin, the one technique to hail a Waymo experience is through Uber — no Waymo One app right here. By requesting an UberX, Uber Inexperienced, Uber Consolation or Uber Consolation Electrical, you may be matched with a Waymo automobile — and you will not be upcharged. If you happen to’d moderately not take a driverless experience, you may have the choice to change to a typical one. Then again, if you wish to increase your possibilities of being matched to a self-driving automobile, you’ll be able to go to Account > Settings > Autonomous autos, then hit the toggle subsequent to Get extra Waymo rides.

Unlock the door, pop open the trunk and begin the experience from the Uber app. You may nonetheless be requested to fee your experience on the finish, however you will not be requested to tip.

If there are any points, riders can entry human assist 24/7 by way of the Uber app and from contained in the Waymo automobile (there are screens in the back and front that allow you to shortly summon buyer assist).

As a part of the Uber partnership, Uber will handle duties like automobile cleansing and restore, whereas “Waymo will proceed to be accountable for the testing and operation of the Waymo Driver, together with roadside help and sure rider assist capabilities,” the businesses stated. The collaboration ought to make autonomous rides accessible to extra individuals, who now will not should obtain a separate app to hitch a experience in a robotaxi.

Hailing a experience in Atlanta

Waymo operates throughout 65 sq. miles of Atlanta, with plans for future expansions. Like in Austin, you’ll be able to climb aboard a Waymo robotaxi solely by way of the Uber app. While you e-book a experience by UberX, Uber Consolation or Uber Consolation Electrical, you could be paired with a Waymo automobile at no extra price. You may have the choice to simply accept or decline the driverless experience every time. 

You may unlock the automobile, pop the trunk and begin the journey all from the Uber app, and you’ll entry human assist 24/7 by way of the Uber app and from touchscreens contained in the automobile.

If you wish to increase your possibilities of being paired with a Waymo automobile, you’ll be able to choose in by going to the Uber app, tapping Account > Settings > Autonomous autos (underneath Trip Preferences), after which hitting the toggle subsequent to Get extra Waymo rides.

Upcoming expansions 

Dallas

Waymo is at present conducting early testing in Dallas, with plans to launch public rides by way of the Waymo One app subsequent 12 months. The corporate is teaming up with Avis Funds Group, which can handle the fleet, together with automobile cleansing and upkeep.

“Our partnership with Waymo marks a pivotal milestone in our evolution, from a rental automobile firm to a number one supplier of fleet administration, infrastructure and operations to the broader mobility ecosystem,” Avis Funds Group CEO Brian Choi stated in an announcement. “Collectively, we’re dedicated to creating scaled autonomous mobility a actuality for the individuals of Dallas, with plans to increase to extra cities within the close to future.”

New York Metropolis

In June, Waymo shared plans to carry its autonomous tech again to New York City, after having first operated by hand its autos there in 2021. It will as soon as once more begin by driving manually within the Massive Apple, because it waits to listen to about its allow utility with the New York Metropolis Division of Transportation to function autonomously with a human behind the wheel. Waymo will not be but increasing its ride-hailing service to New York Metropolis, however says it plans to take action sooner or later.

Current legal guidelines within the state of New York do not allow the identical totally autonomous ride-hailing service that firms like Waymo supply in different components of the nation. Waymo says it is “advocating for a change in state regulation that will permit for working a automobile with no human behind the wheel,” including, “we have now each intention of bringing our totally autonomous ride-hailing service to town sooner or later.” 

In early July, Waymo started manually working its autos in Manhattan, components of Downtown Brooklyn, Jersey Metropolis and Hoboken. If NYCDOT grants the corporate’s allow, Waymo says it’s going to drive autonomously with a specialist behind the wheel in New York Metropolis, however not in New Jersey.

Philadelphia

Waymo stated in July that it is bringing a restricted fleet of its autos to “probably the most advanced components” of Philadelphia, “together with downtown and freeways.” These autos can have human drivers behind the wheel as the corporate continues to develop its driving capabilities. There are not any rapid plans to launch a robotaxi service there.

Washington, DC

Waymo plans to start out providing rides by its Waymo One app in Washington, DC, in 2026. The corporate returned to the nation’s capital in January to check its autonomous driving tech. In late March, it stated it was bringing extra autos to town and dealing to scale its service all year long. In a blog post, Waymo stated it’s going to “proceed to work carefully with policymakers to formalize the rules wanted to function with no human behind the wheel within the District.”

Miami 

You may even have to attend till 2026 to experience a Waymo in Miami. The corporate has been conducting weather testing within the lead-up to that eventual rollout, noting in a blog post, “Our earlier highway journeys to the Sunshine State’s difficult wet circumstances have been invaluable in advancing our autonomous driving capabilities.”

Waymo will collaborate with Moove, a fintech firm that provides automobile financing, first in Phoenix, the place Moove will handle the robotaxi’s fleet operations, services and charging infrastructure. In Phoenix after which Miami, “Waymo will proceed to supply our service by the Waymo One app, and stay accountable for validation and operation of the Waymo Driver,” the corporate stated in a blog post.

Tokyo

Waymo’s expansion into Tokyo, which was introduced in December, is going on in partnership with Japanese taxi service Nihon Kotsu and taxi app Go. In April, the self-driving firm shared that it is lastly able to hit the highway overseas.

Waymo says skilled Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually drive its autos throughout seven Tokyo wards, together with Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō. This can permit engineers to check and adapt Waymo’s autonomous driving tech to native highway options and site visitors. 

“In Tokyo, we’re abiding by the identical steadfast ideas that information us within the US — dedication to security, dedication to incomes belief in communities the place we function, and collaboration with native officers and group teams right here in Tokyo,” Nicole Gavel, Waymo’s head of enterprise improvement and strategic partnerships, stated in an announcement.

It is not clear when riders will be capable to hitch a self-driving experience with Waymo in Tokyo.

The highway forward: Future autos

In August, Waymo unveiled the sixth generation of its self-driving know-how, which strives to increase the capabilities of its driverless fleet. Smarter sensors are supposed to assist the automobiles higher navigate in excessive climate, Waymo stated. The sixth-gen Driver will come aboard the all-electric Zeekr vehicle, which contains a flat flooring, extra head- and legroom, adjustable seats and a detachable steering wheel and pedals. The up to date tech remains to be being examined, however the firm says it’s going to be out there to riders quickly.

In October, Waymo additionally introduced a partnership with Hyundai to combine its sixth-generation Driver into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which, in accordance with a weblog put up, “will probably be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.” The businesses added that they “plan to supply a fleet of Ioniq 5s geared up with Waymo’s know-how in vital quantity over a number of years to assist Waymo One’s rising scale.” Testing with these autos will begin by late 2025 and turn out to be out there “within the years to comply with.”

At present, on a regular basis riders cannot take a Waymo automobile on highways and freeways, however which will quickly change. The corporate is testing totally autonomous rides on freeways in Phoenix, as seen in an exclusive video shared with CNET in Might. It is also now making totally autonomous freeway rides out there to Waymo workers in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Space.

Waymo is working to increase its autonomous driving tech into trucking as nicely, nevertheless it stated final 12 months that it is scaling back those efforts in the meanwhile, to give attention to ride-hailing with Waymo One. It famous, “Our ongoing funding in advancing Waymo Driver capabilities, particularly on freeways, will straight translate to trucking and profit its improvement efforts.”