Zoox Offers Free Driverless Robotaxi Rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco, With 350,000 Riders Served

Zoox, Amazon's self-driving unit, said that as of late March 2026 it had served 350,000 riders and that about 500,000 people had joined its waitlist. Zoox began offering free driverless rides last year around the Las Vegas Strip and in certain San Francisco neighborhoods, using toaster-shaped robotaxis that have no steering wheel or pedals. CEO Aicha Evans said: "We're ready to charge, especially in Las Vegas, where obviously we've been there for a long time." Zoox has yet to launch a paid service. It 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, and the agency will publish its decision after a 30-day comment period that began on March 11. CNBC names launching a paid service and producing enough robotaxis to meet rider demand as the company's biggest hurdles. On March 24 Zoox announced that it is expanding its service areas. In San Francisco the move quadruples coverage to include the Marina, North Beach, Chinatown and Pacific Heights neighborhoods and the Embarcadero, where service was previously limited to SoMa, Mission and Design districts. In Las Vegas, Zoox expects to begin offering trips to "high-traffic events" at venues including the Sphere and T-Mobile Arena later this spring, and is preparing to carry passengers to Harry Reid International Airport in the coming months. Earlier in March it struck a partnership with Uber to make its robotaxis available through Uber's app in Las Vegas starting this summer, although Evans said the Zoox app will be the primary way to hail a vehicle for the foreseeable future. Zoox is testing its autonomous technology in 10 U.S. cities, and its modified Toyota Highlanders have been gathering data in Atlanta and Los Angeles since last year. The company plans to launch its robotaxi service to some members of the public in Austin and Miami later this year, starting with testing in a small area of both cities. Trips will initially be limited to Zoox employees and their family and friends, before an Explorer program in which the public can join a waitlist. Zoox said it 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.