They say everything’s bigger in Texas––and apparently that includes robotaxi fleets.
There’s been a slew of recent news about plans to bring more driverless rides to Texas cities, including Lyft’s Monday announcement that it’s slated to bring AVs to its platform in Dallas “as soon as 2026.”
The plan (first reported by TechCrunch) is part of Lyft’s previously announced partnership with AV tech company Mobileye. “But the deeper story,” according to Lyft CEO David Risher, is the involvement of Japanese auto and fleet financing conglomerate Marubeni, which manages more than 900,000 vehicles.
“Amazing, safe technology is foundational to [robotaxis],” Risher wrote on LinkedIn. “But it’ll take financial partnership, fleet-management excellence, and 24/7 demand to commercialize them at scale. That’s what we’re putting together to create a customer-obsessed, financially strong AV business.”
Marubeni-owned vehicles equipped with Mobileye’s AV tech will be added to Lyft’s network, with plans to scale to thousands of vehicles across Dallas in the coming years.
“The collaboration shows the ‘Lyft-ready’ model in action––demonstrating how partners can seamlessly deploy AVs to Lyft’s platform, effectively commercialize these deployments, and optimize their efficiency,” Lyft said in a statement. “It also builds on Lyft’s work with industry leaders to execute on our vision of a hybrid rideshare model that combines fleet-owned AVs, personal AVs, and traditional vehicles to serve riders, drivers, and partners.”
Making moves: Lyft’s announcement comes on the heels of rival Uber announcing last week that its platform will soon support autonomous rides, courtesy of Waymo, in Austin––marking an expansion of a partnership announced in 2023. Uber works with a number of AV company partners on bringing driverless rides to its platform.
The robotaxi and ride-hailing companies revealed a co-branded version of the electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles Waymo uses, and released a sign-up list for customers in Austin as they prepare to open the service to the public. Joining the “interest list” on Uber’s app, according to the company, gives Austin riders a better chance of matching with a Waymo robotaxi when the service goes live.
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When it debuts, the partnership will give riders access to 37 square miles in Austin via driverless vehicles, with plans to expand that territory in the future. Ride rates would be the same as those for UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric, with up-front pricing in the Uber app, according to the company. Riders will have access to “24/7 human support” via the Uber app and in the Waymo vehicle.
After Austin, Uber and Waymo plan to launch in Atlanta.
“We’re excited to partner with Waymo as we build the future of transportation, which will combine the best of both autonomous and human drivers in the years ahead,” Andrew Macdonald, SVP of mobility and business operations at Uber, said in a statement.
Austin is becoming something of a robotaxi hot spot; Tesla recently announced plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service there this year, too.
Speaking of Waymo: The AV company recently announced it would be launching a two-month transit credit program for riders in LA, following the conclusion of a similar program in San Francisco.
The program is designed to help “riders get to LAX sustainably by connecting with transit,” according to Waymo. Riders using Waymo to get to one of eight eligible transit stations in LA now through April 1 will get a $3 Waymo credit to use on future rides.