Amazon's Zoox opens free robotaxi rides for early users in parts of San Francisco

(Reuters) -Amazon's self-driving unit Zoox started offering free rides to some early users in parts of San Francisco, it said on Tuesday, as it steps up expansion amid rising competition in the autonomous ride-hailing sector. Tesla's launch of its robotaxi service this year and accelerated expansion by Alphabet's Waymo have renewed focus on commercializing autonomous vehicles, even as high investments, tight regulations and federal investigations have forced many to shut down. Zoox is inviting people from its waitlist to try the point-to-point service in San Francisco's South of Market, Mission District and Design District neighborhoods, aiming to refine the experience before scaling up. The move comes just days after Waymo said it would start offering robotaxi rides that use freeways across San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Waymo has been operating on San Francisco streets for years and now runs a paid service across several other U.S. cities. Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, this year with safety monitors and has started a ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area with drivers. Zoox, with its purpose‑built vehicle resembling a toaster oven on wheels and without any manual controls such as a steering wheel or pedals, began offering free robotaxi rides to the public in and around the Las Vegas Strip in September. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Abhirup Roy and Vijay Kishore)

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