"Milestone": Zoox with its biggest expansion step to date

Amazon subsidiary Zoox will expand its robotaxi service in San Francisco and Las Vegas and take the testing of its autonomous vehicles in Austin and Miami to the next level. The US robotaxi company announced this on Tuesday, calling it the “biggest milestone to date.” The developments are the most important service expansion to date and another step to make Zoox accessible to even more passengers in the United States.

“This year is all about growth. We are actively implementing the insights gained to scale our robotaxi service safely and reliably across the country and offer even more passengers our unique experience,” explained Zoox CEO Aicha Evans in a statement. According to its own data, Zoox is the only company “with a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in a specially developed robotaxi.”

Expansion in San Francisco and Las Vegas

Zoox plans to expand its offering significantly in San Francisco. The company launched its autonomous taxi service there last year and now wants to quadruple its service compared to the current scope. From spring onwards, densely populated and high-demand city districts such as Marina, North Beach, Chinatown, and Pacific Heights will be added as Zoox locations.

At the same time, the robotaxi provider wants to expand in the casino metropolis of Las Vegas and cover even more sights and event venues along the Strip. The number of Zoox locations has more than doubled; for example, the Las Vegas Convention Center and most of the major hotels on the Strip have been added. “Thanks to our partnerships with Sphere and T-Mobile Arena, we also offer a first, limited service for high-traffic events at these locations,” explained Zoox. In Las Vegas, Zoox has been offering its robotaxi service since last fall.

Next Phase in Austin and Miami

In Austin and Miami, the company will in future also deploy its self-developed autonomous vehicles on public roads. “We have been testing our technology in these markets since mid-2024 with the retrofitted Zoox test fleet and are pleased to reach the next phase of our rollout,” Zoox said in the press release. Initially, rides will be offered in a small area of both cities for Zoox employees, their families, and friends, before the operational areas will be gradually expanded over the course of the year.

According to Zoox, its vehicles have already covered almost two million autonomous miles and transported more than 350,000 passengers. More than half a million people have signed up for the company's waiting list. The company is constantly expanding its service and technical functions to offer shorter waiting times and a better ride experience, according to Zoox. The company's robotaxi test fleet is currently active in ten different US markets. Just at the beginning of the month, the Amazon subsidiary expanded its tests to Dallas and Phoenix. In addition to the already mentioned locations of San Francisco, Las Vegas, Austin, and Miami, these include Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.

(akn)