Self-driving Uber robotaxis debut in Dallas, offering a glimpse into the future of transport. Riders can opt for these autonomous rides.
DALLAS — Your next Uber ride in Dallas could come without the need for a generous tip. The computer behind the wheel doesn’t need one. Self-driving cars have officially hit the road in North Texas.
Starting Wednesday, Dec. 3, Uber will match riders with Avride robotaxis, according to a press release from the company.
“There’s something magical about your first robotaxi ride,” said Annie Duvnjak, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility operations.
“For me, it feels really special to be able to introduce these new types of technology,” she said during a one-mile trip from Uber’s offices in Deep Ellum to the AT&T Performing Arts Center, the vehicle completing the drive independently while a safety operator monitored the trip from the drivers seat. “And we’re excited for drivers to be able to try this on Uber.”
The self-driving cars will be available throughout nine square miles of Dallas, bound by Downtown, Uptown, Turtle Creek and Deep Ellum. Dallas riders who request an UberX, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with an Avride robotaxi, the release states.
Riders will receive a notification that they’ve been matched with a robotaxi and will have the option to accept it or switch to a non-autonomous ride, according to Uber. The self-driving cars will not cost more than a typical Uber, the company said. When the robotaxi arrives, the rider can unlock the car and hop in.
“We’re excited to launch autonomous rides in Dallas with Avride, as we continue to build towards an increasingly electric and autonomous future,” said Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous at Uber.
If Dallasites want to try out Uber’s autonomous cars, they can change ride preferences in the settings in the Uber app to boost their chance of getting picked up by a robotaxi.
Uber plans to expand the operating territory for the robotaxis in the future.
But they will not be alone. Waymo plans to offer its own autonomous rides in Dallas as early as next year and is already a partner with Uber in Austin. On the open road, Aurora Innovation is running autonomous big rigs on routes from Houston to Dallas and El Paso to Fort Worth. The company says its vehicles have already travelled 100,000 driverless miles on public roads.
“Autonomy is absolutely here,” Aurora Innovation president Ossa Fisher first told WFAA in 2023. “We’re driving autonomous loads every day on Texas highways.”
As for the all-electric and autonomous robotaxis from Uber and Avride in Dallas, the cars are available now – although with a human safety monitor along for the ride. Uber could not provide a definitive timetable for when the cars will go completely driverless.
“We’re able to help people get where they want to go and they need to go in a quick, safe and efficient way. And that’s something that motivates us in our mission to help people get where they need to go,” said Duvnjak.
Avride’s robotaxis are equipped with 13 cameras, five lidars and four radars. The company says that like Uber’s other autonomous partners, they are subject to the rideshare company’s extensive safety rules and guidelines.