Amazon’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Zoox, has initiated a small-scale deployment of test vehicles on Los Angeles streets starting Tuesday. This move represents a significant step in the company’s progression towards offering public rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year.
The data-gathering effort marks Zoox’s entry into its sixth city, setting the stage for a future robotaxi service. Unlike its competitor Waymo, which already provides paid autonomous rides in LA, Zoox is still in the early phases of development.
The initial phase involves sending out manually driven Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox’s self-driving technology. These vehicles will collect mapping data in preparation for more extensive autonomous testing in LA scheduled for this summer.
Zoox is currently testing its autonomous vehicles in several cities. The company has expanded areas where its purpose-built robotaxi, designed without a steering wheel or pedals, operates on public roads without human drivers in Foster City, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. Recently, Zoox allowed select individuals, including employees and media representatives, to experience the service.
The company is also conducting tests using Highlanders with human safety operators in Austin, Miami, and Seattle.
This expansion in California follows a recent voluntary software recall by Zoox, affecting 258 vehicles due to issues with unexpected hard braking in its autonomous driving system.
Zoox’s entry into Los Angeles comes after Waymo’s launch of a fully autonomous commercial robotaxi service in the city. Currently, Waymo is the sole AV company in the U.S. offering paid services across multiple cities, including the Bay Area, Phoenix, and Austin. The Alphabet-owned company plans to introduce commercial services in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C. within the next two years.
