SAN FRANCISCO—Zoox, a robotaxi operator owned by Amazon, on Nov. 18 launched a free ride program in parts of San Francisco, a step closer to catching up with Waymo in the race to bring fully autonomous taxis to the public.

Zoox’s free pilot program is so far only open to individuals who signed up on a waiting list to ride in the company’s gondola-shaped robotaxis.

The all-electric, autonomous vehicles have no steering wheel and can transport up to four people at once. They can be found carrying passengers in Las Vegas and within a few of San Francisco’s major districts, including most of the Mission, South of Market (SoMa), and Design District neighborhoods, according to the announcement.

Members of the public who are interested in the early-ride program can join the waiting list to be notified via email when it’s their turn to experience a ride. Then they can use the Zoox app, installed on a smartphone, to choose a destination.

If the desired location is not quite within the service range, Zoox will drop riders off near the destination instead and will provide walking directions for the rest of the journey.

“We have seen incredible interest in Zoox in this market and are excited about this first step to bring our purpose-built robotaxi experience to more people,” CEO Aicha Evans said in the announcement.

The company launched its first autonomous ride-hailing service in Las Vegas in September. It plans to expand the service to Austin and Miami next.

The pilot program with free rides is a stepping stone toward operating commercial services, which will require approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. Driverless vehicle operators Waymo and Cruise were approved on Aug. 10, 2023, to charge fares under select conditions.

In 2024, however, the State regulators temporarily paused Waymo’s expansion plans in San Mateo and Los Angeles counties due to concerns from the public officials saying its vehicles could stall the traffic and potentially block first responders.

A Waymo robotaxi was attacked, graffitied and set on fire by mob in San Francisco in early February 2024, now Waymo driverless cars can be easily spotted in San Francisco.

Based in Foster City, California, Zoox was established in 2014 with the goal of creating vehicles that were designed to be autonomous, rather than adding autonomous driving equipment to already existing vehicles.

The company was acquired by Amazon in June 2020 for more than $1.2 billion.

Zoox has been testing its autonomous fleet with safety drivers in San Francisco since 2017, the announcement states.

“[San Francisco is] our home. A city of innovation and progress, with an amazing mobility ecosystem that we feel Zoox can really complement,” Evans said.

According to the signup page on the website, the robotaxis have been tested extensively on the hills, turns, and intersections in San Francisco.

Waymo, which started as a secret project by Google in 2009, has been operating its commercial robotaxi services in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, and Los Angeles in California, as well as Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix.

Waymo has also received authorization to start offering autonomous rides at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC).

On the same day Zoox announced its launch in San Francisco, Waymo announced it is expanding its services to five more cities: Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.