A recent study conducted by Khaled Abdelghany at Southern Methodist University suggests that fully autonomous vehicles have the potential to reduce traffic delays in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by as much as 33 percent, all without the need for new highway lanes. This study was funded in part by the region's council of governments and involved traffic modeling with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
The research included 25 experiments simulating traffic conditions in 2045, analyzing scenarios with varying levels of autonomous vehicle adoption: 100 percent, 50 percent, and 25 percent. In the scenario where all vehicles were autonomous, delays decreased by up to 33 percent, and time spent in congested traffic dropped by at least 19 percent.
According to Abdelghany, human drivers often cause traffic jams through inconsistent driving patterns, and autonomous vehicles could alleviate this issue by driving more smoothly and in a coordinated manner.
In terms of congestion, Dallas was ranked as the 17th most congested city in the nation in 2024, with drivers losing approximately 36 hours annually to traffic delays.
Texas has positioned itself as a leader in the driverless vehicle industry, particularly in freight transportation. Aurora Innovation launched the first commercial driverless delivery service in the U.S. between Dallas and Houston in April 2025. These autonomous trucks operate along the I-45 corridor, transporting various goods without a human driver on board, while being monitored remotely.
The I-45 corridor was strategically chosen, as it handles nearly half of all truck freight in Texas. Aurora has expanded its operations to include a second route from Fort Worth to El Paso and plans to deploy hundreds of trucks.
Other companies, such as Kodiak Robotics and Waymo Via, are also developing autonomous trucking services in Texas, making the state a hub for this emerging sector.
On the passenger front, Waymo has been operating a paid robotaxi service in Austin and has recently opened services in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, with plans for broader availability by the end of the year. Waymo is actively hiring for full-time positions in Texas.
While the rise of autonomous vehicles raises questions about job displacement, experts suggest that new roles will emerge rather than existing jobs simply disappearing. Maintenance technicians, remote operators, and logistics staff will be needed to support driverless operations. Industry estimates project that autonomous vehicles could contribute approximately $70 billion to the U.S. GDP and create around 9 million jobs globally by 2030.
However, the study's findings come with caveats. The 33 percent reduction in traffic delays is based on a scenario where all vehicles are autonomous, a situation not expected to occur in the near term.
