Uber and Avride Launch Robotaxi Rides in Dallas

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) today announced that Dallas riders can now be matched with an Avride robotaxi, unlocking a brand-new way to ride with Uber.

The service will be available throughout 9 square miles of Dallas–from Downtown to Uptown to Turtle Creek to Deep Ellum–with plans to expand the operating territory in the future.

Here’s what you can expect when matched with an Avride robotaxi:

• Request your ride: Starting today, riders in Dallas who request an UberX, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with an all-electric Avride robotaxi—at no additional cost. Riders will receive a notification each time and will always have the option to accept or switch to a non-AV ride.
• Familiar app, new experience: Once the robotaxi arrives, riders can unlock the vehicle and start the trip–all from the Uber app.
• Path to driverless: Avride vehicles are designed to operate as fully autonomous robotaxis. At launch, an on-board specialist will be monitoring behind the wheel, before fully driverless operations (with no human behind the wheel) begin in the future.
• Safety first: Safety is at the heart of what we do, so any AV on the Uber network must meet all our Safety Guidelines. If assistance is needed at any time, riders will have access to human support — available in the Uber app.
• Update your Ride Preferences: Uber customers in Dallas who are excited about riding in a robotaxi can boost their chances of getting matched by opting in to the Ride Preferences section of their Uber app under Settings.

“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. “With the world’s largest hybrid network, we’re proving how AVs and drivers can work side by side to make transportation more convenient, sustainable, and affordable for people everywhere.”

"Robotaxis are what we’ve been building from day one, and we’re excited to begin introducing them in Dallas, with our partners at Uber,” said Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO at Avride. “Building on the success of our autonomous delivery partnership, we’re now expanding our collaboration with Uber and bringing our core technology to passenger mobility, laying the groundwork for scalable autonomous transportation."

As we continue to scale the world’s largest hybrid network, we’re reimagining how the world moves and building a future where autonomous vehicles and drivers work side by side to help make transportation more affordable, sustainable, and accessible for all.

About Uber

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 68 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

About Avride

Avride is a U.S.-based autonomous vehicle startup headquartered in Austin, TX, with additional R&D hubs around the world. The company develops and operates both autonomous cars and delivery robots that share technologies and mutually benefit from each other’s advancements — a unique approach in the industry. Since 2017, Avride has been building expertise in autonomous technologies to create solutions that address current needs and anticipate future demands.