- Zoox, an Amazon-owned robotaxi company, launched public rides in San Francisco on Tuesday.
- Its autonomous pod features no steering wheel, four-wheel steering and bench seating.
- The service will be free to start and is open to select early riders.
The Tesla Cybercab is still a long way from hitting the road. But another futuristic, steering wheel-free robotaxi just started picking up passengers in a major American city.
On Tuesday, Zoox launched public rides in its autonomous shuttles in San Francisco. Rides will be free at first and available to people on the Amazon-owned company's waitlist through its "Explorers" program. The service will work in a small section of the city to start.
"Our Explorers program is an early rider initiative that invites people to ride for free and share valuable feedback to help us refine the experience before we scale," the company said in a press release.
California's Public Utilities Commission tightly regulates autonomous car testing and deployments in the state. Right now, Zoox has a Driverless Pilot permit, which doesn't let it charge passengers for trips.
Zoox was founded in 2014 and has been testing its autonomous technology in San Francisco since 2017. What's most notable about it—and what sets it apart from industry leader Waymo and some of the other startups getting off the ground—is its vehicle. Zoox uses a purpose-built, futuristic pod rather than a retrofitted version of a vehicle anybody can buy.
The electric vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals, and also no dedicated front or rear since it can move bidirectionally. It has four-wheel steering, sliding doors and bench seats that face each other. In August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Zoox an exemption from motor vehicle standards for its pod, clearing the way for wider deployment.
Tesla plans to start building its own purpose-built autonomous vehicle, the two-seat Cybercab, next year. Right now, it operates autonomous Model Y taxis in Austin, Texas. Waymo uses Jaguar I-Paces to ferry around passengers in several U.S. cities, but it has been testing a custom shuttle from the Chinese car company Zeekr and will also soon deploy Hyundai Ioniq 5s. Waymo says it will eventually take out the steering wheel from that vehicle, but hasn't said when it will be deployed.
Zoox first opened its ride-hailing service to the public in September in Las Vegas. There, riders can be shuttled autonomously to select spots on and around the Las Vegas Strip. On Tuesday, Zoox said it will add more destinations there in the coming months.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
