We Rode With Uber’s AV Partners in Dallas, Took Several Waymo Rides and Uncovered Two Waymo Depots

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk headed to Dallas to attend Forward Fort Worth. While in town, they rode in several Waymos and in Uber’s autonomous vehicle partners Avride and May Mobility, and discovered two Waymo depots in Dallas.

The Waymo driver in Dallas was noticeably more cautious than in the Bay Area or Miami, but overall a great experience. While riding around in Waymos, Grayson discovered two depots on opposite ends of downtown Dallas. One appeared to be a temporary depot with portable charging, while the other was not yet operational but had charging infrastructure built out with a design matching Waymo’s Santa Monica and Miami depots.

While Grayson rode around in Waymos, Walt headed to Arlington for an update on May Mobility’s progress. He noticed a smoother ride than his prior experience last year, though he still encountered heavy braking. Last but not least, both Grayson and Walt successfully ordered Avride robotaxis on the Uber X tier after a Dallas police officer pointed Grayson to the best spot to get matched with an AV on the Uber platform.

Closing out the show, Grayson and Walt discuss Nissan’s autonomous vehicle strategy through its Wayve partnership and Zoox’s upcoming Miami and Atlanta launches, while reigniting the LiDAR versus vision debate.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Forward Fort Worth
• 02:47 Waymo in Dallas: Ride Experience and Depot Discoveries
• 12:25 May Mobility in Arlington: Ride Experience & Uber Launch Timeline
• 16:45 Avride in Dallas: Ride Experience
• 21:49 Uber’s Multi-Partner Strategy
• 30:27 Nissan’s Autonomous Vehicle Strategy
• 33:18 Zoox’s Pending Miami & Atlanta Launches
• 36:11 LiDAR vs. Vision Debate
• 41:50 Tesla Robotaxis in Dallas
• 43:28 Foreign Autonomy Desk
• 48:36 Next Week