Zoox is starting to open its robotaxis to the public in San Francisco, as the Amazon-owned company moves toward a commercial service and direct competition with Waymo.
Zoox robotaxis—custom-built vehicles that don’t have steering wheels or pedals—have been on the streets of San Francisco for nearly a year. But until now, only Zoox employees and their friends and family have been able to take a ride.
This is not a large-scale public circulation, nor a commercial one. Instead, the company will invite some of the people who signed up on the waiting list to join the early-rider initiative, known as Zoox Explorer. Under this program, these select few will have access to the service, and for now, it’s free.
Riders will slowly move off the waiting list as Zoox adds more robotaxis to its fleet and its service area grows. Zoox said its goal is to remove the waiting list entirely in 2026. The company would not disclose the number of riders that will be given public access or how many are on the waiting list. Today, it has about 50 robotaxis in Las Vegas and San Francisco.
Once access is granted, riders will be able to use the Zoox app to get a ride in the service area, which covers San Francisco’s SoMa, Mission and Design District neighborhoods.
While Zoox’s service area is small compared to the 260 square miles in which Waymo’s robots operate, the public launch brings it closer to direct competition with the Alphabet-owned company.
Zoox, which was acquired by Amazon in 2020, has been working on a commercial robotaxi service for more than a decade. Its test vehicles, Toyota Highlanders equipped with self-driving sensors and software, have been a common sight in the San Francisco Bay Area for years. But it’s the California-based company’s Foster City, custom-built for robotics that has caught the public’s attention.
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“Zoox has been testing our autonomous technology in San Francisco since 2017,” CEO Aicha Evans said in a statement. “It’s our home. A city of innovation and progress, with an amazing mobility ecosystem that we think Zoox can really complement. We’ve seen incredible interest in Zoox in this market, and we’re excited about this first step in bringing our custom-designed robotaxi experience to more people.”
Two obstacles stand between Zoox and a commercial robotaxi service. The company must obtain a license from the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates ride-hailing, to charge for rides in the state.
Zoox also needs to convince the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to allow it to use the custom robotaxi for commercial service.
The company has made some progress at the federal level. In August, NHTSA granted Zoox an exemption to demonstrate its custom robotics on public roads. The decision cleared up a long-running debate over whether Zoox’s custom-built autonomous vehicles complied with federal motor vehicle safety standards, which set requirements for vehicles such as steering wheels and pedals.
The exemption allowed Zoox to offer free rides with its robotaxis. It won’t be able to charge for the rides until NHTSA expands that exemption to cover commercial activities.
