Zoox launched its paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas last week, charging prices notably higher than standard ride-hailing offerings.
Aug. 10 marked the first day the Amazon-owned Zoox charged for rides in its four-seater purpose-built autonomous vehicles in Southern Nevada, offering pickups and drop-offs at 15 locations, mainly centered around the resort corridor.
The Review-Journal compared prices advertised in Zoox’s smartphone application for rides from the Excalibur to six different locations with those offered by ride-hailing giant Lyft at around 12:45 p.m. on launch day. For the six drop-offs — Bellagio, Fashion Show Mall, Las Vegas Convention Center, Mandalay Bay, Top Golf and Sphere — Zoox averaged $22.62, or 57 percent higher than Lyft’s $14.44 average price.
Zoox charged a higher price for all six of the rides, particularly for the trip to the Sphere, because Zoox charges a destination fee for rides to such high-interest locations.
The app did not itemize any destination fee, and Zoox declined to disclose its pricing formula.
Other areas where destination fees could be added include T-Mobile Arena and Harry Reid International Airport, once Zoox expands its service area.
Zoox spokesperson Marisa Wiggam said the company wasn’t sharing exact pricing, including destination fees.
“At certain destinations, Zoox has premier pickup and drop-off locations, which makes getting to and from high-trafficked events easier for riders and enhances their overall experience at these venues,” Wiggam said in an email.
The Lyft prices did not include a tip. Zoox said fares are calculated using a base fare, distance and travel time between pickup and drop-off locations.
Zoox had been offering free demonstration rides since last September as it awaited an exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which came down in July. The first-of-its-kind exemption allows Zoox to provide paid rides to customers in its pod-like vehicles that don’t feature standard vehicle parts such as steering wheels, brake pedals or gas pedals.
The four-passenger, carriage-style vehicles feature two seats facing each other. They can travel up to 75 mph, forward or backward.
Zoox is currently authorized to operate up to 100 vehicles in Nevada; the company has yet to ask the Nevada Transportation Authority to authorize more. Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said on Fox Business last week that 65 robotaxis were being used at the launch of its paid service in Las Vegas.
Zoox has been operating in Las Vegas since 2019, first conducting data-gathering rides on Toyota SUVs retrofitted with the same autonomous systems that are being used in the robotaxis. The company operates locally out of a 190,000-square-foot facility in the southwest valley.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.
