Which autonomous trucks run with no driver in the cab?

As of 2026, three operators run a commercial route with no human in the cab: Aurora on the Dallas-Houston corridor in Texas (since May 2025), Bot Auto between Houston and Dallas (reported humanless, since April 2026), and Kodiak on private Permian Basin haul roads for Atlas Energy (since December 2024). Aurora later added an OEM-requested observer, which the registry records as an observer rather than a safety driver.

Do Aurora and Waabi both run driverless trucks?

No. Both run the Dallas-Houston corridor, but Aurora runs fully driverless (no human in the cab) while Waabi runs every mile with a safety driver in the seat. Waabi's fully driverless target was end-2025 and was missed; it has slipped to 2026 or later.

When will more autonomous trucks go driver-out?

Aurora targets an observer-free run on its second-generation International LT platform in Q2 2026, and Torc Robotics (a Daimler Truck subsidiary) targets a 2027 commercial launch. Both are announced targets, not yet reached. Announced is not driverless.

Verified deployments

Autonomous truck deployments: every confirmed driverless route

Partly. As of 2026, three operators run a commercial route with no human in the cab: Aurora Innovation hauls freight fully driverless on the Dallas-Houston corridor in Texas, Bot Auto reports humanless runs between Houston and Dallas, and Kodiak AI runs driverless customer operations on private roads in the Permian Basin. Everyone else still runs a safety driver on every mile: Gatik moves commercial middle-mile freight supervised, and Waabi runs the same Dallas-Houston corridor as Aurora but supervised, its driver-out target missed. Torc and Aurora's next-generation platform have announced driver-out dates that have not arrived. Every operator below links to its verified registry record.

Routes are sourced from the DEPLOY registry. How we verify.

TL;DR · Autonomous trucking: driverless vs supervised in 2026

Driverless (no human in cab): three operators - Aurora (Dallas-Houston), Bot Auto (Houston-Dallas), and Kodiak (Permian Basin private roads).
Aurora ran the first sustained fully driverless US freight lane, on Dallas-Houston, since May 2025 (an OEM-requested observer was later added; recorded as an observer, not a safety driver).
Same corridor, different reality: Aurora runs Dallas-Houston driverless; Waabi runs the same lane supervised, its driver-out target missed and slipped to 2026 or later.
Supervised commercial freight: Gatik moves middle-mile freight with a safety driver (one limited driver-out lane); Plus is in supervised trials.
Announced, not driverless: Aurora's second-generation International LT targets Q2 2026 and Torc targets a 2027 launch. Neither is reached.

Operators running driverless

Supervised commercial or pilot

Driver-out announced, not reached

2025

First driverless US lane

Aurora and Waabi are not the same yet

Both run commercial freight on the Dallas-Houston corridor, but they are not equivalent. Aurora runs fully driverless with no human in the cab; Waabi runs every mile with a safety driver in the seat. "Autonomous trucking" means something different for each. Waabi's fully driverless target was end-2025 and was missed.

Announced is not driverless

A 2026 or 2027 driver-out target is not a driverless route. Aurora's second-generation International LT platform targets an observer-free run in Q2 2026, and Torc Robotics targets a 2027 commercial launch. Both are verified as targets; the driverless route itself is absent. The answer to "is this one driving without a driver yet?" is not yet.

Tier 1 - Driverless: a commercial route with no human in the cab

Operators running a commercial route with no safety driver in the seat. Verified from the DEPLOY registry.

Autonomous truck routes by operator
					Notes
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Aurora Innovation	Aurora Driver (L4) on Peterbilt 579	Dallas to Houston, Texas (Interstate 45)	May 2025	The first sustained fully driverless (no-human-in-cab) commercial freight lane in the US, hauling for Hirschbach, Uber Freight, and Werner. Aurora later added an OEM-requested observer in the cab; the record marks this as an observer, not a safety driver.
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Bot Auto	Bot Auto L4 system on Freightliner Cascadia	Houston to Dallas, Texas	Apr 2026	Bot Auto runs as its own motor carrier and reports humanless (driver-out) commercial runs on the Houston-Dallas corridor. Also active in Houston and Austin.
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Kodiak AI	Kodiak Driver (L4) on Peterbilt base	Permian Basin, West Texas (private lease roads)	Dec 2024	Driverless customer operations for Atlas Energy Solutions on private Permian Basin haul roads; the first commercial driver-out deployment handed to a customer. Kodiak also runs supervised on-highway pilots.

Tier 2 - Supervised: freight is moving, a driver is still in the seat

Commercial or pilot freight on public roads, but every run has a safety driver in the cab. Verified from the DEPLOY registry.

Autonomous truck routes by operator
					Notes
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Gatik	Gatik Driver (L4) on Isuzu FTR box truck	Multiple fixed middle-mile lanes (Walmart, Kroger, Tyson, Loblaw)	2021	Commercial middle-mile box-truck service on repeated fixed short-haul lanes across Arkansas, Texas, and the Greater Toronto Area. Removed the safety driver on a limited Bentonville lane; most lanes remain supervised.
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Waabi	Waabi Driver (generative-AI) on Volvo VNL Autonomous	Dallas to Houston, Texas (with Uber Freight)	2023	Commercial freight on the same Dallas-Houston corridor as Aurora, but every run is safety-driver supervised. The fully driverless target was end-2025 and was missed; it has slipped to 2026 or later.
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Plus	Plus SuperDrive (L4) on International / IVECO	Texas (with Ryder) and Spain (with IVECO)	2025	Supervised OEM-integrated trials on public roads, described in the record as pre-driver-out. No confirmed no-human-in-cab commercial route.

Tier 3 - Driver-out announced, not yet reached

These operators have announced a driver-out date but have not reached it. The target is verified; the driverless route is absent. This is honest-absence: the answer to "is this one driving without a driver yet?" is not yet.

Autonomous truck routes by operator
					Notes
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Aurora Innovation	Aurora Driver (2nd-gen kit) on International LT	Texas (next-generation hardware)	target Q2 2026	The observer-free target for the second-generation International LT platform is Q2 2026, per the record. Not yet reached.
DEPLOY VERIFIED	Torc Robotics	Torc autonomous system (Daimler Truck subsidiary)	United States	target 2027	Daimler Truck subsidiary targeting a 2027 commercial launch. No verified deployment on record yet.

Explore autonomous trucks on the deployment map

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Most of these lanes do not have a standalone location page yet, so the map is the reliable way to see where autonomous trucks are verified operating, by place and type.

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Get one email when an autonomous truck route goes fully driverless.

Route status is drawn from the DEPLOY registry: driverless where DEPLOY confirms a commercial route with no human in the cab, supervised where every run has a safety driver, and honest-absence where a driver-out date is announced but not yet reached. How we verify

Operators in the registry

Part ofVerified deployments/Where can you ride a robotaxi

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