Starting Wednesday, Uber customers in Dallas will have a new option for getting around — without a driver. The ride-hailing service is launching its partnership with robotaxi company Avride, so customers can hop in a self-driving car to get to their destination.
Riders requesting an UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric might be paired with an Avride robotaxi. The cost for riding in an autonomous vehicle (AV) will be the same as for a human-driven ride. Customers will get a notification each time they’re matched with the robotaxi, and they can choose whether to accept the ride or switch to a standard, non-AV ride.
At launch, the service will be available across 9 square miles of Dallas. Uber plans to expand that service area in the coming months.
Uber’s service area with Avride in Dallas will cover 9 square miles at launch. The companies plan to expand in the near future.
To boost your chances of being matched with an autonomous vehicle, go into the Uber app and tap on Account > Settings > Autonomous vehicles (under Ride Preferences), then hit the toggle next to Get more autonomous rides.
When the robotaxi arrives, you can unlock it and start the trip from the Uber app. You can also access human support through the app if any issues come up.
Avride’s vehicles are designed to be fully autonomous, but at launch, a specialist will sit behind the wheel to monitor operations. Eventually, Uber and Avride plan to roll out fully driverless rides.
Avride’s autonomous driving tech is retrofitted onto the fully electric Hyundai Ioniq 5. That tech includes 13 cameras, five lidars and four radars.
“We’re excited to launch autonomous rides in Dallas with Avride, as we continue to build towards an increasingly electric and autonomous future,” Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility & delivery, said in a statement. “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.”
Uber has over 20 autonomous vehicle partnerships.
Expanding autonomous vehicle partnerships
Last year, Uber and Avride announced their partnership, which includes bringing both robotaxis and delivery robots to Uber and Uber Eats.
Uber launched Avride’s sidewalk robots for food deliveries in Austin in November 2024, followed by Dallas. In February, the companies expanded again to Jersey City. More cities are on the roster for 2026.
As part of the robotaxi partnership, Avride will manage its own fleet at launch, before Uber eventually takes over day-to-day operations like cleaning, maintenance, inspections and charging. From the start, Uber will handle rider support, while Avride oversees vehicle testing.
Avride is just one of Uber’s many AV partnerships. The ride-hailing company has also teamed up with Waymo in Phoenix; Atlanta; and Austin, Texas. It also offers autonomous rides in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi through its collaboration with WeRide. And late next year, Uber plans to kick off its self-driving partnership with autonomous vehicle company Nuro and electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In his third-quarter remarks, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “Looking ahead, we expect to be live with autonomous vehicle deployments on the Uber network in at least 10 cities by the end of 2026.”
