Amazon-owned Zoox will begin charging fares for its driverless shuttles on Aug. 10, entering the paid robotaxi market against Waymo. The company faces a patchwork of state regulatory approvals as it expands beyond Las Vegas.
Amazon-owned Zoox said Wednesday it will begin charging fares for its driverless shuttles in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, the company's first paid service after years of free trials. The launch puts Zoox in direct competition with Alphabet's Waymo, which already operates a commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix and San Francisco.
Zoox has been offering free rides to the public in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco since last year. In July, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Zoox a temporary exemption from federal rules that require human controls, such as a steering wheel and pedals. That exemption cleared the way for the company to start collecting fares.
"It's different when it's free vs. when the customer is going to pay," Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in an interview. She said she is now focused on building a "stellar, lovable commercial service."
Zoox's vehicles are toaster-shaped shuttles with no traditional driver controls. They seat four passengers in inward-facing seats and have bidirectional wheels, allowing the vehicle to move forward or backward without turning. Since launching free rides, Zoox has transported nearly one million passengers across Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin and Miami.
The company said fares will be calculated from a base price plus distance and time. Destinations like the airport may carry an additional fee, a structure similar to ride-hailing services. Zoox declined to disclose the base fare but said it aims to price rides competitively with Uber Comfort, the ride-hail company's higher-tier option.
The federal exemption was the first regulatory milestone. Expanding paid operations beyond Las Vegas will require approval from state and local regulators in each new market. Evans said Zoox is in discussions with several state agencies.
Not all states have welcomed autonomous vehicles. In February, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul abandoned a proposal that would have allowed commercial robotaxis in parts of the state. In March, New York City let a Waymo permit expire, ending a limited test. Zoox will need to navigate a patchwork of local rules as it scales.
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