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You can now hitch a free ride around the Las Vegas Strip, and you don’t have to worry about tipping the driver — because there won’t be one.
Amazon is offering free trips to five locations on the Strip — Resorts World, AREA15, Topgolf, the Luxor hotel and the New York-New York hotel — as part of the launch of its new robotaxi service, Zoox.
The Vegas debut of Zoox’s ride-hailing service, which began on Sept. 10, comes after roughly two years of testing the boxy vehicles, which some have described as looking like a “toaster on wheels.”
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The rides are electric and have opposing bench seats, so that passengers face each other, according to Autoweek magazine.
The robotaxis were first available to company employees in Las Vegas before gradually expanding to friends and family members. Now anyone with the Zoox app can request a free ride, which will carry up to four passengers for trips of about three miles.
The promotion is expected to run for the first few months while the company awaits regulatory approval. When Zoox does start charging, prices are expected to be in line with Uber and Lyft.
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Until then, Zoox is collecting rider feedback, testing its user interface, refining its pickup and drop-off infrastructure and working to gain the public’s trust in driverless transportation.
For now, Zoox is betting that Vegas tourists and locals will be willing to gamble on a ride without a human driver.
“The autonomous vehicle industry has made remarkable strides this year, bringing us closer to a future of safer, more accessible mobility,” Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in a statement. “With the launch of our fully driverless ride-hailing service using a purposefully designed robotaxi, we’re thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking journey.”
Evans added that the company has conducted more than a decade of research and testing and is “incredibly excited to finally bring that vision to the public.”
Like other ride-hailing services, the Zoox vehicle’s license plate number will be displayed in the app, along with estimated pickup times, arrival updates and post-ride summaries with feedback options, according to the company. If riders need help before, during or after their ride, they can contact a member of a remote support team through the app or by pushing a “help” button located on a rider screen within the robotaxi.
Amazon bought Zoox for $1.2 billion five years ago and now the company is racing to catch up with robotaxi leader Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet and already provides driverless rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin.
Waymo began offering commercial driverless rides in 2020 and earlier this year announced it surpassed 10 million paid rides.
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Meanwhile in Texas, Tesla is still in the testing phase of a robotaxi service.
Zoox is already testing its robotaxis on the streets of San Francisco, with plans to expand service there to the public next year before reportedly moving into cities including Austin and Miami.
The company currently operates about 50 vehicles between Las Vegas and San Francisco, and riders can now sign up for a waitlist to be among the first to experience the service in the Bay Area.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Zoox for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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