March 2026  ·  David Richards  ·  PMM Interview

Getting Dallas in the Waymo

A user research report on Dallas' newest autonomous vehicle.

Dallas
00
Introduction

In late February of 2026, Waymo launched "Early Access" in Dallas, making it one of ten U.S. cities autonomous vehicles drive freely. Dallas is a particularly interesting test case: it's one of America's most car-dependent metros, where driving is a core component of the culture. I conducted both secondary research on the Dallas market and user research from three Dallas residents to gain empathy and learn more about their preconceived notions, attitudes, and questions about autonomous vehicles. They spanned the spectrum of acceptance — Marcus is a Waymo "Skeptic," John is a Waymo "Convert," and Claire is a Waymo "Enthusiast." This report focuses on what matters most at launch: how real Dallas consumers think about getting in the Waymo car.

01
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
Lead with experience: the product is the pitch.
Across all three interviews, firsthand experience was the single strongest driver of trust; no amount of data, advertising, or branding came close. John went from planning his escape route in the event of a crash to calling Waymo "a better driver than probably a human is" after just two rides. Claire is a self-described 10/10 on openness but hasn't taken a single ride — not because she's unconvinced, but because she's waiting for a social trigger. The empty seat that initially terrifies prospects becomes their favorite feature after one ride; the job of marketing is to get them to that first ride, not to pre-sell the driverless experience from the outside. First-ride referral programs, ride-together incentives, and experience-based activations will likely outperform awareness campaigns. Two important caveats: first, this strategy only works if wait times are short. In a city where personal vehicles are always immediately available, a long dispatch time gives the hesitant rider an easy exit before they ever get in the car. Second, the "last 50 feet" is a real barrier in Dallas's residential landscape — gated driveways, private roads, and valet-style buildings can physically prevent Waymo from completing a pickup. Referral programs need to account for access, not just intent.
Recommendation 2
Position Waymo as the premium safety choice — not the budget alternative.
Waymo's key competitor in Dallas isn't Uber at the low end. It's Alto — a local, premium ride-hail service that charges more for professional drivers and a safer experience. Claire already pays that premium and said Waymo "appears even safer than Alto." John's biggest praise was the consistency, cleanliness, and absence of "weird Uber stuff." For the safety-conscious Dallas consumer (particularly for women), the pitch isn't "cheaper than a cab." It's "safer than anything with a human behind the wheel." This framing also addresses one of the core findings: the empty driver's seat is a liability for prospects and a luxury for converts. Marketing should acknowledge the initial fear honestly — don't pretend the empty seat isn't unsettling — and then let the product experience do the work of reframing it. One nuance worth noting: Alto retains a real advantage for older riders who need physical assistance getting in and out of a vehicle. A human driver provides that in a way Waymo currently cannot — and Waymo's marketing should be honest about where that gap exists rather than overpromising.
Recommendation 3
Earn Dallas. Don't force it.
Marcus's most visceral objection wasn't about technology, it was about losing control. "Nobody in Plano voted on whether we wanted robot cars on our roads." He sees Waymo as a Silicon Valley company treating Dallas like a test lab, and that sentiment carries social importance in a market where local identity runs strong. This connects directly to the trust findings: Marcus didn't reject Waymo's safety statistics because he's anti-data — he rejected them because Waymo produced them. For the skeptic segment, self-reported safety data reads the same as a drug company funding its own clinical trial. The antidote is independent validation — NHTSA endorsements, third-party research, local government backing — paired with a humble posture: local partnerships, Texas-rooted spokespeople, and proactive engagement with the economic concerns around job displacement. Messaging that frames Waymo as superior to human driving will actively antagonize this audience. The better play is complement, not replacement: position Waymo as ideal for specific moments (airport runs, nights out, aging parents) rather than a challenge to the identity that driving represents for so many Dallas residents. "Trust in Dallas is built over decades, not weeks."
02
Research

I interviewed three Dallas residents to understand their transportation habits, their perceptions of autonomous vehicles, and what it would take to get them in a driverless car (if they hadn't yet experienced it).

Marcus Cole
The Skeptic
Marcus
Cole
"Trust is built in decades, not weeks."
Read profile
John Brennan
The Convert
John
Brennan
"It's an Uber without the driver."
Read profile
Claire Davidovich
The Enthusiast
Claire
Davidovich
"I want to try it, but it's not on my list."
Read profile
03
Context
76%
of DFW workers drive to work alone
3%
of DFW commuters use public transit
33
years old is the median age of Dallas

Sources: ACS / census data.

Dallas is known for its sprawling layout and thriving car culture. With 76% of residents driving alone, just 3% using public transit, and an average age of 33, Dallas is ripe for a transportation alternative. Since DART began operating its light rail service in 1996, it has struggled to gain traction with Dallas residents, and the average Dallas commuter spends over 50 minutes in their car each day. The competitive landscape includes ride-hailing companies and local taxi services, but none have been able to shift the entrenched driving culture significantly. Regulatory moves in Dallas have gradually opened the door for autonomous vehicles, with effusive praise from Dallas mayor Eric L. Johnson, and positive public comments from Councilman Chad West.

Waymo service area

Waymo's service area as of March 2026 and the locations of the three residents I spoke with. John and Claire live within the service area, while Marcus lives ~20 miles north in Plano.

Today, Waymo is the only service offering fully autonomous vehicles in Dallas, just as the World Cup approaches — a unique opportunity for brand awareness and exposure.

Dallas market context
04
Findings
Finding 1
The trust gap isn't about information — it's about source.
Marcus didn't reject Waymo's 10x safety statistic because he's anti-data. He rejected it because Waymo produced it. "It's like a drug company funding its own clinical trial." John, by contrast, accepted the same statistic — but only after riding and seeing the technology perform. Data confirms experience; it doesn't replace it. For the Dallas market, third-party validation from NHTSA or independent researchers will carry more weight than any proprietary safety report.
Finding 2
The empty driver's seat is both the biggest fear and the biggest feature.
John's first thought when he got in a Waymo was how to escape if it crashed. A few rides later, the absence of a driver became his favorite part: no small talk, no rerouting, no wondering who this stranger is. Claire echoed this. She uses Alto specifically to avoid the safety risks she associates with Uber drivers. The empty seat is a liability for prospects and a luxury for converts. Marketing needs to acknowledge the fear and sell the freedom, in that order.
Finding 3
Dallas has a "last 50 feet" problem, especially with apartment buildings.
Claire's HOA sent building-wide communications about autonomous vehicle logistics. Her building has a private driveway that Waymo vehicles can't access, and many of her elderly neighbors can barely walk to the street. This isn't an edge case. Dallas is full of gated communities, private roads, and valet-style residential buildings. The "last 50 feet" between the nearest public road and someone's front door is a structural adoption barrier specific to the DFW built environment.
Finding 4
Driving is identity, not just transportation.
Marcus doesn't prefer driving, he equates it with autonomy. "Driving is freedom. You're asking me to give up freedom for convenience, and I don't need that convenience." For this segment, Waymo isn't replacing a ride; it's threatening a value system. Messaging that frames autonomous driving as "superior" to human driving will actively antagonize this audience. The better play: position Waymo as a complement. It's ideal for specific moments (airport runs, nights out, aging parents), not a replacement for the driver's seat.
Finding 5
The enthusiasm-to-action gap is a near-term opportunity.
Claire is the clearest proof: she has had the Waymo app for months, sees Waymos around the city, but still hasn't taken a single ride. She doesn't need to be convinced. She needs to be activated — a referral from a friend, a promo code, a well-timed push notification on a Friday evening. This segment likely represents a significant share of the Dallas early market: people who've downloaded the app, seen the cars, and haven't yet crossed over. A peer referral program targeting this group would likely be the highest-ROI activation lever available at launch.
Finding 6
In Dallas, due to sprawl, speed is of the utmost importance.
Dallas is one of the most car-dependent cities in America precisely because driving is fast and personal vehicles are always available. If a Waymo takes too long to arrive, the target rider will simply get in their own car or open Uber. Wait time tolerance is lower here than in markets like San Francisco where car ownership is less universal. Price sensitivity compounds this: unlike SF, where early adopters will pay a premium for novelty, Dallas consumers are more transactional. If Waymo is meaningfully more expensive than Uber or Lyft without a clear safety or experience justification, uptake will stall. Getting supply density, dispatch speed, and pricing right aren't product polish — they're the prerequisite for everything else in this report to matter.
05
Creative Concept
Campaign
"The Screen Is the Pitch"

A campaign built around the in-car sensing display. John's trust inflection point was seeing the Waymo screen show bikes, buildings, and precise distances the car was tracking. That perspective shift — from "nobody's driving" to "something superhuman is driving" — is potentially reproducible via content and ads.

Click the toggle to switch views.

PEDESTRIAN42 ftPEDESTRIAN87 ftCYCLIST63 ftBUILDINGBUILDING
What the rider sees
Human view
Waymo view
06
Next Steps

This study was a focused sprint — three interviews and a secondary research review, conducted in about a week. If this were a full engagement, here's where I'd go deeper:

Expand the interview panel — carefully. Three personas can't represent a metro of 8 million. I'd prioritize interviewing parents evaluating Waymo for teen transportation, older adults who currently rely on Alto or family members for rides, and Dallas service-industry workers who drive for Uber/Lyft — the segment most directly affected by AV deployment. One group to approach cautiously: DART-dependent commuters. Unlike transit in SF, NYC, or DC where ridership crosses income levels, DART in Dallas skews heavily toward lower-income riders — in part because affluent suburbs have actively blocked DART expansion to limit who can access their areas. Waymo's target early market is unlikely to overlap significantly with DART's current ridership, and conflating the two would muddy the research.
Quantify the enthusiasm-to-action gap. Claire's profile suggests a large pool of app-downloaders who haven't taken a first ride. Understanding the size of that pool and what triggers conversion (referral? promo? time of day?) would directly inform campaign investment.
Pressure-test the Alto competitive frame. Claire's preference for Alto over Uber is a signal worth validating at scale. If the safety-premium segment is larger than assumed, it reshapes Waymo's entire Dallas positioning and pricing strategy. Also worth exploring: how Alto's physical driver-assistance advantage (helping older riders in and out of the vehicle) affects retention among that demographic, and whether Waymo has any plans to address it.
Map the "last 50 feet" problem. A GIS analysis of Waymo's service area overlaid with private roads, gated communities, and valet-style buildings would quantify the access gap Claire surfaced and inform where infrastructure partnerships are needed.
07
Appendix

The following source materials informed this report. Each document is available to download and includes the persona classification, key quotes, and strategic implications.

This is independent research prepared as part of an interview process.
It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Waymo.