The field to perfect robotaxis inched closer to getting crowded as Tesla secured a permit for a ride-hailing service in Arizona while Amazon-sponsored Zoox opened up for free robotaxi rides in San Francisco.
Tesla’s Robotaxi trial has excited the company’s investor base, and continues to expand.
The two companies join several others already operating services in both areas, such as Waymo. Tesla already has vehicles in operation in San Francisco as well as Austin, Texas. Those vehicles have human drivers in the vehicles acting as safety monitors.
Tesla got a permit to begin testing driverless vehicles in Arizona in September with a safety driver. The EV maker is looking to test vehicles in the Phoenix metro area, Reuters reported. It applied for approval to operate a ride-hailing service, similar to Uber or Lyft, in early November, getting clearance Nov. 17.
Rolling cubes
Zoox, which is already testing driverless vehicles in Las Vegas and other cities, nabbed approval to begin offering free rides in San Francisco on a limited basis. Unlike Tesla, which uses existing vehicles with steering controls, Zoox is testing its specialized vehicles that feature no driver controls.
Zoox has culled a waitlist through its app to try the point-to-point service in San Francisco’s South of Market, Mission District and Design District neighborhoods, Reuters reported. The goal is to debug the service before expanding.
Zoox began offering free rides in parts of San Francisco in its driverless cubes.
More miles needed
“Zoox has been testing our autonomous technology in San Francisco since 2017,” said Aicha Evans, CEO, in a release.
“It’s our home. A city of innovation and progress, with an amazing mobility ecosystem that we feel Zoox can really complement. We have seen incredible interest in Zoox in this market and are excited about this first step to bring our purpose-built robotaxi experience to more people.”
The Amazon-controlled maker of self-driving toaster ovens is now operating in eight cities with the addition of San Francisco. The other locations include Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Only Las Vegas uses the company’s quirky, boxy vehicles.
MORE ROBOTAXI NEWS
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Don’t forget about me
Zoox is running its cubes along The Strip in Las Vegas as well.
Waymo announced plans last week to expand its service area as well. Alphabet’s self-driving subsidiary said this week it is preparing to take a major step forward, putting its self-driving vehicles on the open road between three different U.S. cities.
Prior to these approvals, the company was limited to low-speed operations in urban areas. This is the next step in creating a viable, full-service self-driving robotaxi business.
“The open road symbolizes freedom and unlimited possibility — highlighted especially by the ease and speed by which freeways allow us to get where we’re going. Waymo is now bringing that experience into the autonomous driving age, as we begin welcoming riders to use Waymo on freeways across the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Los Angeles,” the company said.
As part of the expanded service, Waymo is opening access throughout Silicon Valley, expanding service from San Francisco all the way down to San Jose, including curbside service at San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC).
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