BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 5. Amazon-owned Zoox will begin offering paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas starting next Monday, days after receiving U.S. regulatory approval to commercially deploy its driverless vehicles without traditional human controls.
The company said fares will be comparable to the "comfort" tier offered by major ride-hailing platforms, which typically costs 20% to 40% more than standard services due to larger and newer vehicles.
Zoox's purpose-built electric robotaxis feature two rows of inward-facing seats and have already been carrying passengers free of charge in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin and Miami as part of testing.
The commercial launch intensifies competition in the U.S. autonomous ride-hailing market, where Alphabet's Waymo already operates paid driverless services in several cities, while Tesla has also begun expanding its robotaxi operations.
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted Zoox an exemption from federal rules requiring steering wheels and other human driving controls, allowing the company to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles annually over the next two years.
The agency said Zoox's vehicles meet safety standards comparable to conventional vehicles but imposed additional reporting requirements covering incidents such as crashes or vehicles stopping unexpectedly.
Zoox added that fares will be calculated using a base fare plus time and distance, with any destination-specific charges disclosed before the trip. Customers will not be charged extra if a robotaxi takes a longer route than originally planned.
The company has issued several software recalls in recent years, most recently in July, after one of its robotaxis experienced difficulties detecting heavy smoke at an emergency scene.
