A company that already offers driver-less ride-share services in five U.S. cities is expanding to Dallas.
Waymo gave Dallas city leaders a demonstration at city hall today.
What we know:
There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the launch of Dallas’ first driver-less ride-share service. Waymo is launching in North Texas next year. As some Dallas City Councilmembers got a first-hand look at self-driving car technology today. To showcase that the next generation of ride-share options in Dallas is on the horizon.
Local perspective:
“I’ve been trying to get into one of these since my last trip to Austin because they’re all over Austin,” said Dallas City Councilman, Chad West.
West is talking about Waymo, a fully autonomous ride-hailing service cruising into North Texas soon.
There is no physical driver in the driver’s seat. Instead, the company uses radars, sensors and other wireless technology to maneuver the cars through city streets.
“I’ve learned that their sensors can actually identify people and objects up to 3 football fields away, so for me, that is a great safety measure,” said West.
Waymo held the demonstration outside city hall on Monday. Council members could look at the autonomous car but weren’t able to ride in one just yet.
“It’s just another way that our city and our residents can be connected. Connectivity is so important,” said Laura Cadena of the Dallas City Council.
What they’re saying:
In a statement, Waymo said in part:
“We look forward to bringing our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the people of Dallas next year, offering a new era of safe and seamless transportation.”
The other side:
The Texas rollout had some bumps in the road.
Reporting done by FOX 7 Austin included a list of complaints provided by the City of Austin, that some of the autonomous vehicles were stalling or speeding.
First responders report Waymo vehicles being involved in a collision, passing security checkpoints and blocking police check points.
“Waymo stops immediately when it’s a yellow light when you have like 5 seconds to cross over, so when you stop then and there, you’re stopping a bunch of other cars unexpectedly because it’s a yellow light,” said Austin resident Gabriel Mendez.
Dig deeper:
The Dallas councilmembers who spoke to FOX 4’s Alex Boyer are optimistic safety issues are being addressed.
“There’s been some great improvements along the way in terms of safety features,” said Cadena.
“Yeah there’s going to be risks with these automated cars, but also human error and human drivers, myself included, we have bad days and miss things,” said West.
What’s next:
Waymo is still in road-testing in autonomous mode. With a human behind the wheel in Dallas to help the Waymo driver system learn local traffic patterns, road design, and signal behavior.
At this point, Waymo will only say that they plan to launch in Dallas sometime in 2026.
Councilman Chad West hopes it’s before the start of the World Cup games next summer.