Waymo has removed the waitlist for its self-driving taxi service in Dallas. As of August 4, 2026, anyone can download the Waymo app and immediately request a ride, with no prior sign-up or approval needed (TechCrunch).

Dallas joins Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco as cities where Waymo's service is fully open. The company has used the same approach in each city: start with a small group of invited riders, grow through a waitlist, then let anyone use the service once things are running smoothly. About 150,000 people used the Waymo app in Dallas during the waitlist period.

Waymo first came to Dallas in 2025, testing its self-driving cars on public streets and planning a full launch the next year. The service opened to a limited group of riders on February 24, 2026, at the same time as launches in Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. Waymo said it would gradually add more riders and open to everyone later in the year (Waymo Blog).

The Dallas fleet is made up of all-electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles that drive themselves. Waymo has partnered with Avis Budget Group to handle depot operations like charging the cars and doing routine maintenance. This lets Waymo focus on the self-driving software and the ride-hailing app, while Avis takes care of the physical work of keeping cars on the road.

One gap remains: riders cannot currently take a Waymo to Dallas Love Field Airport. The company is still testing airport routes and says it expects to serve riders there "soon."

The Dallas opening also follows a disruption earlier this year. In May 2026, Waymo paused service in four Texas cities, including Dallas, as well as Atlanta, because its self-driving cars had trouble with heavy rain and flooded roads. Service has since resumed in all affected areas. Waymo has said it may pause or adjust service during severe weather, flood warnings, or dangerous road conditions. A company spokesperson said riders can check service status in the Waymo app.

The weather pause is worth flagging for what it tells us about the state of self-driving taxis today. Waymo's software has gotten good enough to offer rides to anyone across several cities, but bad weather remains a real limitation. The company's decision to pause service rather than send cars out in unsafe conditions makes sense from a safety standpoint, but it also means the service is not yet as reliable as a regular taxi or ride-hailing app during storms.

The broader context here is how quickly Waymo is expanding. The company launched in four cities in a single day in February, and now one of them is fully open about six months later. The Avis partnership could make it easier to set up and manage fleets in new cities. Whether Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando follow Dallas into open availability on a similar timeline will tell us a lot about how smoothly this expansion process can be repeated.

For now, Dallas residents and visitors can open the app and get a ride. The airport gap and the weather limitation set the boundaries of that availability, and Waymo says both are temporary.