Zoox Robotaxi Multi-City Expansion

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Zoox Robotaxi Multi-City Expansion

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Amazon's Zoox self-driving unit is preparing to launch its robotaxi service to some members of the public in Austin and Miami later this year. Zoox will soon deploy its toaster-shaped robotaxis, which have no steering wheel or pedals, for testing in a small area of both cities. Trips will initially be limited to Zoox employees and their family and friends, before it launches its Explorer program, where the public can join a waitlist to ride in the vehicles. Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, began offering free driverless rides last year around the Las Vegas Strip and certain San Francisco neighborhoods. As of late March, the company said it had served 350,000 riders and about 500,000 people have joined its waitlist. Zoox is racing to catch up to Alphabet's Waymo, the U.S. robotaxi leader. Waymo currently offers 400,000 paid rides per week across six U.S. metro areas and is now operating its service commercially in 10 U.S. cities, aiming for expansion to London and Tokyo this year. Zoox is also expanding its service areas in San Francisco and Las Vegas. The move will quadruple Zoox's coverage in San Francisco to include the Marina, North Beach, Chinatown and Pacific Heights neighborhoods, as well as along the Embarcadero. Previously, its service was limited to the city's SoMa, Mission and Design districts. In Las Vegas, Zoox said it expects to begin offering trips to high-traffic events at venues including the Sphere and T-Mobile Arena later this spring. It's also preparing to carry passengers to Harry Reid International Airport in the coming months. The company is currently testing its autonomous technology in 10 U.S. cities. Zoox will have 100 robotaxis on public roads once its service scales in Las Vegas and San Francisco, and it begins testing in Austin and Miami. Zoox's biggest hurdle remains launching a paid service, in addition to producing enough robotaxis to meet rider demand. The company is awaiting approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to operate as many as 2,500 of its self-driving cars on public roads for commercial purposes. Earlier this month, Zoox struck a partnership with Uber to make its robotaxis available through its ride-hailing app in Las Vegas starting this summer.