"The purpose-built, steering wheel-less electric pod can be hailed for free "on and around the strip" using a smartphone app. The vehicle has two opposing bench seats inside and sliding doors on both sides. Amazon's Zoox autonomous taxi service has officially started offering public rides, and its first market is Las Vegas, Nevada. This marks an important milestone for the robotaxi industry, as the odd-shaped driverless pod is now the world's first purpose-built robotaxi that offers fully autonomous ride-hailing services."
"What makes Zoox's service a little different from the rest, aside from the steering wheel-less vehicles, is the fact that pickups and drop-offs in Las Vegas happen at designated ride-hail zones. In other words, you can't just hail a Zoox from anywhere, and you can't exit the robotaxi right in front of the place you need to be. The company partnered with several destinations, including Resorts Las Vegas, Topgolf and Area51, where Zoox concierges will help riders use the smartphone app and answer questions."
"The app shows the robotaxi's license plate number, as well as estimated pickup times, real-time arrival updates and post-ride summaries. There's also a "Help" button on one of the screens inside the autonomous pod. Zoox currently has a fleet of roughly 50 robotaxis, most of which are deployed in Las Vegas. More are on the way, though, as the Amazon-owned company opened its first production facility in the United States in Hayward, California, earlier this year."
Zoox operates purpose-built, steering wheel-less electric robotaxis in Las Vegas that offer fully autonomous ride-hailing. The vehicles seat passengers on two opposing benches, feature sliding doors on both sides, and can be summoned via a smartphone app for free rides on and around the Strip; paid rides will begin after regulatory approvals. Pickups and drop-offs occur at designated ride-hail zones rather than curbside, with partner locations providing concierges to assist riders. The app displays license plate numbers, estimated pickup times, real-time arrival updates, post-ride summaries and includes an in-vehicle Help button.
Read at InsideEVs
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