The traffic on Las Vegas Blvd., aka the Strip, can slow to a literal crawl on busy weekend nights, especially when there is an event at The Sphere or Allegiant Stadium.
The streets are clogged with private vehicles, ride shares, and taxis, and it can take what seems like forever to get from one end to the other.
Transportation entrepreneurs have long promised that autonomous vehicles, or driverless cars, are a holy grail that will solve all sorts of traffic-related ailments, including deadly crashes and dirty air.
The promise is slowly becoming a reality.
A few cities, including San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Miami, have been letting driverless Waymo cars — modified all-electric Jaguar I-PACEs — onto the streets for several years.
But now a new service that’s been in the works for a decade, and has been in testing mode in Las Vegas for more than five years, is also ready for prime time: Autonomous taxis are officially on the Strip.
Zoox, the autonomous taxi company Amazon (AMZN) bought about five years ago for $1.2 billion, started operations in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
Zoox cars are now picking up passengers along the Las Vegas Strip.
Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Amazon’s ride-hailing company Zoox is officially operational on the Strip
Zoox has officially launched along the Las Vegas Strip, picking up and dropping off people at entertainment destinations like Resorts World, Area 15, Topgolf, New York-New York, and Luxor.
The Zoox fleet includes dozens of specially designed, fully autonomous vehicles engineered from the ground up rather than modified conventional cars, like the Waymo vehicles.
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The four-seat “pods” don’t have steering wheels or pedals, and they can travel at up to 75 miles per hour. The boxy vehicles have sliding doors, making them look like mini subway cars.
The vehicle interior has seats that face each other, offering room for up to four passengers.
The pods have climate settings, rider-controlled music, wireless charging, and USB-C ports.
How to hail a free robotaxi in Las Vegas
Zoox has been driving Las Vegas casino employees and their friends and family in on test missions for more than five years.
Earlier this year, in April, a Zoox vehicle was involved in a minor crash, but the company says it’s the only on-road incident involving a pod.
Each pod is outfitted with multiple cameras, making it possible to avoid pedestrians, as well as other vehicles and objects, the company says.
“We’ve driven many of hundreds of thousands of miles here in Las Vegas with these robotaxis, plus millions more with our test vehicles,” Zoox Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jesse Levinson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So by now when we are opening it up to the public, it’s been through so much, it’s able to drive significantly more safely than a human driver, in the places we are allowed to drive.”
To hail a free Zoox ride in Las Vegas:
- Download the free Zoox app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
- Share your telephone number, email address, and zip code.
- The location tracking feature in the app allows you to call for a ride if you’re within the service area.
“By welcoming Zoox robotaxis into our transportation ecosystem, we’re creating new possibilities for our guests, while reinforcing Las Vegas’s position as a global innovation hub,” President & CFO of Resorts World Las Vegas Carlos Castro, said in a company announcement.
Where will Zoox be giving rides next?
Advocates say autonomous vehicles like Zoox pods will ultimately reduce crashes that are caused by driving under the influence and by being distracted while behind the wheel.
Zoox plans to add more destinations, ultimately making the service as much a part of everyday life as Uber or Lyft. The city where you are most likely to be able to hail a Zoox next is San Francisco — perhaps before the end of the year — followed by Miami and Austin, Texas.
For now, Zoox rides in Las Vegas are free, but co-founder Levinson says he expects pricing will one day be similar to other ride-hailing services.