Zoox Explorers Program Hits the Streets, Offers Free Robotaxi Rides in San Francisco

Zoox has flicked the switch on a brand new service for San Francisco drivers and pedestrians alike. Starting this week, the Amazon-backed company is offering free rides in its driverless robotaxis to locals. Riders summon the pods via an app, climb in, and let the tech do the rest.

The rides kick off under the banner of Zoox’s Explorers program, which is basically designed to get some real-world feedback before they start pushing to get more people on board. Anyone can download the app and join a waiting list, but spots go to the people at the front of the line first. Once you get invited, participants get to pick up and drop off points within a confined area of the city. To begin, the concentration is on three neighborhoods: South of Market, Mission District, and Design District, which are essentially a mix of tech businesses, chic cafés, and lively streets that allow the vehicles to navigate the urban jungle. Rides are point-to-point, so no meandering tours, simply getting from A to B. And, yes, the entire thing is free for the time being, as Zoox works out the technicalities.

Stepping into one of Zoox’s pods, you’ll be struck with the overall setup immediately away. Its sleek box-like shell on wheels is supposed to resemble a sophisticated lounge rather than a car; imagine four chairs lined up in two rows facing each other, ideal for striking up a quick chat with the person opposite you or simply admiring the scenery as the world passes by. Zoox treats the front and back of the car equally, so the sliding doors on each side make it easy to get in. The four-wheel steering allows it to zoom around turns with a fluid smoothness that feels almost like a joyful spin, all without the sound of an engine. There is no steering wheel visible, and no pedals cluttering the floor. That took a long time to get cleared; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration only granted an exception from all of those outdated standards in August. That kind of permission is significant; it effectively gives the green light for widespread use, transforming what was once just a paper prototype into something that can take the road.

Zoox didn’t get here overnight, of course. The startup began in 2014, when a pair of engineers decided to completely rethink city transport. By 2017, they had those pods out on San Francisco streets doing early trials, mapping every pothole, crosswalk, and so on. Then Amazon came along in 2020 and paid 1.2 billion dollars for it, giving the project a significant cash influx and a lot of size. Now fast forward to September, and Zoox will be testing the waters in Las Vegas. They were offering free rides down the strip and to surrounding locations to see what people thought. The comments from those visits really influenced changes to the app and riding process. That experience is now being fed directly into the Bay Area launch. Meanwhile, a revamped factory in Hayward, approximately 25 miles south east of the city, is producing these vehicles at a rate that might reach 10,000 per year, with each one rolling off the assembly line ready to scan the roads, predict turns, and keep its passengers safe, all from a screen. To put it bluntly, most of the time there isn’t even a human behind that screen; all it takes is a button press to activate everything.

Zoox has made safety their top priority since the beginning, and they’ve spent a long time building up their kit, placing cameras, radar units, and LiDAR sensors all over the area, sort of like eyes and ears. Software crunches that data in real time, determining the optimal path to take, including avoiding jaywalkers and sudden stops. California officials are also keeping an eye on them; Zoox has a Driverless Pilot permit, which allows them to operate these empty vehicles but suspends paid fares, essentially providing a buffer to allow the crew to work out the problems while under careful monitoring. So, for the time being, no actual money moves hands. That serves as a buffer, allowing the team to iron out any flaws that the public would see.