Waymo launches autonomous taxi service in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio

Investing.com - Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo began offering commercial autonomous taxi services on Tuesday in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, expanding its fully autonomous ride-hailing business to the three largest cities in Texas. The company also launched services in Orlando, Florida, marking its first time opening to the public in multiple cities simultaneously.

Tens of thousands of users who downloaded the Waymo app in these cities will receive invitations on Tuesday to experience their first rides. Waymo will gradually invite new passengers and then open the service to everyone later this year, at which point its commercial operations will cover a total of 10 metropolitan areas.

Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said, “Waymo is serving more passengers than ever before, and we expect to provide over 1 million rides per week by the end of this year. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando are crucial to our plans because we are laying the groundwork for service in more than 20 cities.”

This expansion comes after a setback last week when New York State Governor Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal that would have allowed autonomous ride services outside New York City, citing a lack of support from stakeholders, including legislators. Waymo has completed over 200 million miles of fully autonomous driving, with more than 127 million miles of data showing a tenfold reduction in the rate of serious injuries or more severe accidents compared to human drivers.

In Texas, Waymo began offering autonomous rides in Austin through the Uber (NYSE: UBER) app last year.

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