Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle company, announced that it will launch its robotaxi service in Dallas in 2026, thus accelerating the expansion of its service in the U.S., at a time when electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is striving to expand its robotaxi services, recently launched in Austin, Texas.
Waymo has been rolling out its robotaxi service in several U.S. cities through partnerships with ride-hailing platforms and fleet operators.
In Dallas, Waymo will operate through a new multi-year partnership with vehicle rental company Avis Budget Group, which will manage fleet operations, including maintenance and infrastructure.
Currently, Waymo conducts over 250,000 paid trips per week with around 1,500 vehicles in cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
This year, Waymo began robotaxi services in Austin exclusively through the Uber platform, months before Tesla started a limited robotaxi test in that city with about a dozen Model Y vehicles and a human safety monitor in the front passenger seat.
