AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Another set of autonomous vehicles will be hitting Austin's streets this week, as Amazon’s self-driving subsidiary, Zoox, announced Tuesday that it will begin deploying its fully autonomous robotaxis in Austin and Miami this week.
The move marks a significant expansion for the company as it seeks to compete with established players like Waymo and Tesla in the growing autonomous ride-hailing market.
While Zoox has maintained a test fleet of retrofitted vehicles in Austin since 2024, this week’s rollout features the company’s proprietary "purpose-built" vehicle. The carriage-style cabin is unique in the industry, featuring a bi-directional design with no steering wheel, subway-style sliding doors, and four inward-facing seats.
The initial phase of the rollout will be limited. Only Zoox employees, along with their friends and family, will be permitted to hail the vehicles during the early testing period. The company stated it intends to open the service to the general public through its "Zoox Explorers" early-rider program later this year.
"This is our biggest milestone yet," a company spokesperson said regarding the multi-market expansion.
The service will initially operate within designated segments of Austin and Miami. Zoox executives indicated that these service areas will gradually expand as the technology proves its reliability in each city's specific traffic patterns.
The company confirmed it is currently gearing up for further service expansions in San Francisco and Las Vegas, where it has already established a footprint.
The arrival of Zoox adds to a densifying autonomous landscape in Austin, where hundreds of self-driving vehicles from various tech giants are already navigating the city’s streets.
