Waymo removed the interest-list gate in Dallas on 4 August, posting on its Waypoint blog that "anyone in Dallas can download the Waymo app and hail a fully autonomous ride." The market opened to invited riders in February 2026.
What changed
The waitlist, and only the waitlist. This is not a service-area expansion — the post announces access, not a larger map. Nearly 150,000 riders had already been admitted from the interest list over the preceding six months, which is a cumulative admission count rather than trips taken or current weekly volume. Rides are rider-only, with no human in the vehicle.
What is not open
Two things worth reading precisely. On freeways, Waymo says it will "soon begin fully autonomous testing… which is the final step before offering these routes to public riders" — testing has not started, let alone opened. At Dallas Love Field, Waymo says it continues fully autonomous testing at the terminals and looks forward to serving travellers "soon." Neither is available to passengers today, and both are the routes that determine whether a robotaxi can replace an airport transfer or a commute.
What the post does not say
No fleet size, no service-area square mileage, no trip volume and no partner arrangements appear in the announcement, and the word "paid" is not used either — the service is commercial, but the post describes access rather than pricing. Figures from earlier coverage of the February launch should not be carried over without separate sourcing.
The cadence
February to public launch in roughly six months is the number to watch, because Waymo has Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego and Tampa in the same pipeline. It is the rate at which a city goes from invitation-only to open service — a different and more informative figure than the rate at which new cities get announced, which is the one usually quoted.