Amazon-owned Zoox is offering free rides in its boxy self-driving taxis in San Francisco.
The company said Tuesday it is providing rides to people who download the Zoox app and join the waitlist. The review is part of a program in which drivers provide feedback on robotaxis before they become more widely available.
A preview shows Zoox is moving closer to expanding its robotaxi service in San Francisco, a city filled with hundreds of self-driving cars from archrival Waymo. Zoox's robotaxi service will be available in the SoMa, Mission and Design District areas.
“We have seen incredible interest in Zoox in this market and are excited about this first step in bringing our purpose-built robotaxi to more people,” Aisha Evans, chief executive of Zoox, said in a statement.
The company, headquartered in Foster City, California, has been testing autonomous technology in San Francisco since 2017. Zoox employees will try out the robotaxis, but it will be the first time the rides have been made available to the general public in America's tech capital. The company has not said when it plans to begin charging for robotaxi services in San Francisco.
The robotaxi race is picking up steam in California, a hotbed of autonomous vehicle testing. Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, has rolled out its services to Bay Area highways and airports. Taxi company Uber has teamed up with Lucid Group and Nuro to launch robotaxis in the San Francisco Bay Area next year. Tesla said it will begin testing robotaxis with drivers in the Bay Area.
Dubbed by some as a “toaster on wheels,” Zoox's boxy, aloe-colored car is different from its competitors. Electric cars, designed to seat four people, do not have a steering wheel or pedals, and the doors open and close. Although people look at each other during the ride, some of those who tested the vehicles reported feeling motion sickness when moving backwards. The robotaxi is equipped with wireless charging, an emergency call button and a touch screen for controlling the music and temperature of the car.
The company has a fleet of about 50 robotaxis in San Francisco and Las Vegas. In September, the company began allowing the public to use robotaxi services on the Las Vegas Strip. Zoox has opened a large plant in Hayward, California, and said it will be able to assemble more than 10,000 robotaxis a year as demand for its services grows.
People are increasingly using self-driving vehicles, but robotaxis are also raising concerns about job losses, security and privacy. Residents of Santa Monica complained about beeping sounds from Weimos. In San Francisco and Los Angeles, people vandalized cars and set them on fire. And after Waymo moved KitKatbeloved cat, San Francisco residents have expressed great concern about the safety of driverless taxis.
Some companies have failed to launch robotaxis. Last year, automaker General Motors suspended development of its Cruise robotaxi, citing high costs and increased competition. Cruise lost the permits it needed to continue testing in California due to the threat to public safety after a woman was dragged under one of the robotaxis in San Francisco.
Zoox has announced a voluntary recall of the software to address potential security issues. In May, an e-scooter driver in San Francisco suffered minor injuries after a person crashed into an unoccupied Zoox vehicle that had stopped at an intersection. When the rider fell next to the robotaxi, it began to move, but then stopped. The company reported in blog post the company has updated its software to better track nearby pedestrians and prevent movement when a person is very close to a vehicle.
The amount of time it takes to get off the waiting list in San Francisco will depend on the demand and availability of robotaxis. Zoox said there is no limit to the number of people who can join the waitlist, but they plan to remove it next year.
The company has also partnered with Tartine Manufactory, a popular San Francisco bakery known for its breads and pastries. Zoox posted on social media that people who download its app and sign up for the waitlist from November 15 to November 22 will be able to receive free baked goods while supplies last.
Zoox is testing its robotaxis in other major cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin and Miami. Tech giant Amazon bought Zoox in 2020 for more than $1.2 billion.
