Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company under Alphabet, has announced plans to launch its autonomous taxi service in Dallas next year. Dallas will be the latest city in Waymo's expanding business footprint, following the service's coverage of major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. This expansion marks another significant milestone for Waymo in the North American market.
To efficiently manage its all-electric Jaguar I-Pace autonomous fleet, Waymo has established a strategic partnership with Avis Budget Group. Avis will be responsible for the daily operations of the vehicles, including charging and maintenance, to ensure the efficient operation of the fleet. Users will be able to conveniently call for vehicles through the Waymo application.
This collaboration with Avis is groundbreaking, as Avis is the first car rental company to assist Waymo in managing its fleet. Chris Bonelli, a spokesperson for Waymo, stated that the partnership with Avis will help Waymo deploy its technology more quickly and cost-effectively to new markets, and both parties plan to deepen their cooperation in more cities in the future.
For long-time followers of Waymo, the announcement in Dallas may not come as a surprise. Earlier this year, Waymo conducted a "road trip" with its sensor-equipped vehicles, mapping the city and conducting preliminary tests in Dallas. Since then, Waymo has tested autonomous vehicles equipped with human safety operators on Dallas's public roads. As in other cities where the service has been launched, once its technology is further validated on Dallas streets, Waymo will move into a fully autonomous testing phase.
Bonelli said that the initial autonomous taxi fleet will gradually expand to hundreds of vehicles, but did not disclose the specific release date or initial fleet size. Brian Choi, CEO of Avis Budget Group, emphasized that this collaboration marks a key step in the company's transformation from a traditional car rental service provider to a leading fleet management, infrastructure, and operations supplier.
Currently, Waymo is operating commercially in five cities: Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area (extending into Silicon Valley), and plans to launch its commercial autonomous taxi service in Washington, D.C., and Miami next year.