Zoox to begin charging for Las Vegas robotaxi rides this month after federal exemption granted

Zoox will soon begin offering paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas with the blessing of federal safety officials.

Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted a temporary exemption for the Amazon-owned Zoox to begin offering paid rides because its robotaxis don’t include brake or gas pedals or steering wheels.

Zoox announced in a post on its website on July 31 that it will begin charging for rides in August.

“We are excited to build on this momentum and expand what’s possible with the unique product our riders are beginning to know and love,” Zoox posted on its website announcing the exemption approval.

Details on the pricing were not available, according to a company spokesperson.

The exemption is the first of its kind to allow self-driving vehicles without manually operated driving controls to be part of a commercial ride share service.

The exemption began on July 31 and is good through July 31, 2028, and will allow the company to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles per year for paid robotaxi service, according to the NHTSA’s records. Zoox also offers free rides for those who are part of its Explorer program in San Francisco.

Zoox robotaxis are four-seat, carriage-style pods with two seats on each side facing each other. The vehicles can travel up to 75 mph forward or backward.

Part of the exemption bars Zoox from selling its robotaxis to other companies.

Zoox has been operating in Las Vegas since 2019 out of a 190,000 square-foot facility in the southwest valley, starting with Toyota SUVs retrofitted with the autonomous systems to gather driving data around the city. Last year, the NHTSA granted an exemption for Zoox to provide free demonstration rides in Las Vegas.

The free rides have been operated between a set list of pick-up and drop-off points, mainly at resorts along the Strip, Sphere, the Las Vegas Convention Center and T-Mobile Arena. Zoox has been conducting data collection routes to and from Harry Reid International Airport this year ahead of future passenger rides.

Zoox said it has provided over 500,000 rides in Las Vegas ahead of its paid ride service launch this month.

The launch of Zoox’s demonstration rides hasn’t been without some hiccups. There have been several instances of the robotaxis stalling on Las Vegas Valley roads, a couple of minor crashes and one Zoox vehicle entering an active fire incident after the robotaxi failed to detect smoke. The fire incident led to a temporary recall of Zoox’s 105-vehicle fleet.