Uber, Nuro, and Lucid have named Houston as the second planned market for their robotaxi program, with passenger service expected to launch in mid-2027. The city follows the partners’ first market, the San Francisco Bay Area, which is set to begin service later this year. The robotaxis will operate exclusively through the Uber network and rely on the Nuro Driver, the Level 4 autonomy platform that Nuro is validating for the program. Nuro is already running on-road tests with safety operators in Houston, where it has maintained a presence since 2019.
Highlights
- Houston is the second planned market for the Uber-Nuro-Lucid robotaxi program, with service expected in mid-2027.
- The robotaxi engineering fleet includes nearly 100 vehicles operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across California and Texas.
- Uber has secured a 50,000-square-foot depot and a dedicated charging pitstop in Houston to support fleet operations.
- The program calls for a minimum of 35,000 vehicles globally across dozens of markets in the years ahead.
Testing Already Underway in Houston
Nuro is conducting autonomous on-road testing with safety operators in Houston as a step toward commercial deployment in the city. The company is leading autonomous driving development and validation for the program through what it describes as a measured approach spanning simulation, closed-course testing, and supervised public-road testing. The supporting engineering fleet includes nearly 100 vehicles across California and Texas, running around the clock.
That fleet is expected to grow in the coming weeks as Lucid manufactures the first production-validation robotaxis at its Arizona factory. Those vehicles will also be used for safety testing and homologation.
Why Houston?
As the fourth-largest city in the U.S., Houston offers the scale, trip diversity, and regulatory clarity that make it a candidate market for autonomous mobility, according to the companies. It is also familiar territory for Nuro, which has operated in the city since 2019 and conducted Level 4 autonomous operations on Houston public roads. The company points to local experience and established relationships with communities, first responders, and policymakers as factors shaping its work there.
A 50,000-Square-Foot Operations Hub
Uber has secured a 50,000-square-foot depot facility and a dedicated charging pitstop in Houston. The sites are intended to serve as the operational backbone for the program, supporting a fleet of Lucid Gravity robotaxis powered by Nuro’s autonomous technology. The facilities will let Uber and its fleet partners manage charging, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and other day-to-day fleet operations at scale.
Inside the Robotaxi Program
First detailed in the partners’ next-generation robotaxi program last year, the venture pairs Lucid’s electric vehicles and factory integration with Nuro’s Level 4 universal autonomy platform and Uber’s global ride-hailing network and fleet operations. The companies first outlined the partnership in 2025 and revealed the production-intent robotaxi at CES earlier this year.
The service will use the Lucid Gravity, along with future Lucid Midsize vehicles, equipped with the Nuro Driver and a redundant sensor suite of cameras, lidar, radar, and a roof-mounted halo. Uber is designing the broader in-cabin experience, including personalization, support, and rider controls, while Nuro provides the autonomy visualization. The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber and its fleet partners and offered to riders exclusively through the Uber network.
Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery at Uber, framed the city as a milestone for the partnership. “Houston marks an important next step in our partnership with Lucid and Nuro as we expand autonomous mobility to more riders throughout the world,” he said. “Together, we’re combining best-in-class vehicle and autonomy technology with Uber’s scale, fleet operations expertise, and infrastructure capabilities to build a service that can grow across dozens of markets in the years ahead.”
Andrew Chapin, Chief Operating Officer at Nuro, pointed to the company’s history in the market. “Houston is a city Nuro knows well, and we’re excited to help bring this robotaxi service to the city through our partnership with Uber and Lucid,” he said. “Houston’s large, complex metro area is an ideal market for demonstrating how Nuro’s universal autonomy platform can generalize across different geographies and operating environments. We look forward to continued engagement with the community as we prepare to launch service in 2027.”
Kay Stepper, Vice President of ADAS and Autonomy at Lucid, said the program is moving quickly toward commercial service. “Our partnership with Uber and Nuro continues to accelerate at a remarkable pace, and the launch of our program in Houston next year will be another major milestone,” he said. “Our rapid progress toward commercial launch showcases how Lucid’s technology and engineering are ideally suited to power the future of autonomous mobility and we look forward to working with our partners to bring that premium experience to even more riders next year.”
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