Amazon’s Zoox to begin paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas

NDTV Profit reported that Amazon-owned Zoox said it would begin charging for robotaxi rides in Las Vegas the following Monday, at prices comparable to the comfort tier of other ride-hailing services, days after US regulator NHTSA approved commercial deployment of its driverless vehicles, exempting up to 2,500 of them a year for two years from rules requiring human controls. Zoox had been offering free rides in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin and Miami during testing, and said fares would be based on a basic charge plus time and distance with no penalty for a longer route, while flagging fees such as airport trips upfront. The report noted robotaxi operators, Zoox included, remain under regulatory scrutiny over how they handle emergencies, and that Zoox has issued several software recalls, most recently in July after a vehicle failed to detect smoke at an emergency scene.