Waymo has announced its intention to introduce a robotaxi service in Dallas next year.
This marks the latest addition to the company’s expanding commercial presence, which already encompasses Los Angeles and San Francisco.
This time, Waymo is collaborating with Avis Budget Group to oversee its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles that are 100% electric and autonomous.
Avis will be responsible for the general depot operations, which include charging and maintaining the cars. The Waymo app will enable users to summon a robotaxi.
Waymo has previously collaborated with organizations such as Uber in Atlanta and Austin and Moove in Phoenix. Avis is the initial rental car company that assisted Waymo with fleet management. Additionally, this partnership is anticipated to expand to encompass additional cities.
According to Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli, Avis will contribute significantly to the company’s ability to rapidly and cost-effectively expand its technology into new markets. He also stated that Waymo and Avis Budget Group plan to expand into additional cities in the future jointly.
The Dallas launch announcement may not come as a surprise to those who are close to Waymo. Waymo conducted preliminary testing and used its sensor-equipped vehicles to map the city of Dallas during one of its “road trips” earlier this year.
Since then, Waymo has initiated testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads with a human safety operator at the helm.
Once its technology has been further validated on Dallas streets, Waymo will advance to fully autonomous testing, as in every other city it has launched in.
Bonelli refused to provide information regarding the precise launch dates or the number of vehicles comprising the initial robotaxi fleet. However, he indicated that Waymo intends to expand the fleet with Avis to include hundreds of cars.
Brian Choi, the CEO of Avis Budget Group, stated that the partnership is a “pivotal milestone in its evolution,” as it transitions from a rental vehicle company to a prominent fleet management, infrastructure, and operations provider to the broader mobility ecosystem.
Waymo currently conducts commercial operations in five cities: Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area, encompassing Silicon Valley. Next year, the organization intends to introduce its commercial robotaxi service in Miami and Washington, D.C.
