Driverless taxis are taking over America’s biggest cities
One by one, America’s major cities are being infiltrated by the robotaxi buzz. Waymo is one of the leading autonomous taxi providers in the United States, and the company has just announced that it will be expanding to Dallas, Texas, in 2026. This expansion to a major area in the Lone Star State adds to other Waymo robotaxi deployments planned for 2026, including Washington D.C. and Miami. Waymo has once again emphasized its fleet’s safety standards as it prepares to launch in Dallas.
Waymo Expands Coverage In Texas
The launch in Dallas will expand Waymo’s coverage in Texas beyond Austin, where commuters can already order a driverless taxi via Uber. In Dallas, Waymo will leverage its partnership with Avis to provide commuters with a reliable, efficient, and safe taxi service.
“We are excited that fully autonomous ride-hailing services are scheduled to begin in Dallas next year,” said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. “The Waymo and Avis partnership will offer an innovative, technology-based transportation option for our residents and visitors. We look forward to the launch of this new service.”
The ride-hailing service will be available via the Waymo app, with the Avis Budget Group’s experience in fleet management, vehicle readiness, maintenance, and infrastructure helping to get the Dallas operation up and running.
Related: Waymo Won’t Like U.S. City’s Response to Its Driverless Technology
Safer Than Human-Driven Vehicles
Waymo
Waymo claims that its robotaxis are much safer than vehicles operated by humans. Based on its data, the Waymo Driver resulted in 88% fewer serious injury or worse crashes, 79% fewer crashes involving an airbag deployment, and 78% fewer crashes involving an injury of any kind.
There are safety benefits for vulnerable road users, too, with Waymo reporting 93% fewer pedestrian crashes with injuries, 81% fewer cyclist crashes with injuries, and 86% fewer motorcycle crashes with injuries.
Currently operating in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Austin, Waymo provides over 250,000 paid trips and its taxis cover millions of miles each week. In Phoenix, Waymo recently launched a new teen-friendly service, where teens as young as 14 can ride alone in an autonomous cab.
Tesla And Lucid Also Want A Piece Of The Robotaxi Pie
Lucid
In June, Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, with several driverless Model Y crossovers. It didn’t take long for the service to raise safety concerns, as one Model Y was already involved in a minor crash, and several others were spotted violating traffic laws.
Lucid is set to launch its own robotaxi service with Nuro and Uber, with a fleet of driverless Gravity electric SUVs. Roughly 20,000 of these vehicles will be deployed over a six-year period, with a launch to take place in a major U.S. city next year.
It remains to be seen which robotaxi service ends up dominating, and that could come down to the one that offers the best safety reputation.