Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

Post by JumpCrisscross » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 4:29 PM UTC

sbuttgereit wrote: post #72

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why wouldn't they just take a taxi driven by a human? Because the humans in New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco frequently cancel rides, get lost, drive unsafely, pitch me on their religion and smell. (They also must be tipped, at which point the Waymo is the same price or cheaper than the human-driven ride.) When I have the option of a robotaxi, I pay a premium for it. It’s novel. It’s fun. But most i…

I'm sitting in the back of a Lyft car right now... I had to prompt the driver via a phone call to actually try to pick me up at the designated airport pickup spot (you know, where the app has me go), he spent 10 minutes trying to get out of the airport parking lot because he didn't seem to have a ticket, and now his constant pumping of the gas peddle in the sluggish Los Angeles traffic is challenging even my ironclad…

Post by phkahler » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 4:30 PM UTC

_fat_santa wrote: post #60

I was just in Vegas and saw these rolling around. They seem to have a mix of robotaxis (like the ones pictured) and decked out Toyota Highlanders that look like Waymos but not as well "packaged", though in my personal experience I saw far more of the Highlanders than the custom robotaxis and all of them seemed to have a driver behind the wheel. Vegas is an interesting place to launch IMO (and I believe they only oper…

Post by JumpCrisscross » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 4:31 PM UTC

techterrier wrote: post #54

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that will include as much speeding as risk/reward dictates Speeding can usually be brushed off as carelessness. Where it can’t, we charge it more harshly. A robot programmed to speed serves a jury mens rea on a plate.

He means that robotaxi companies will make more money if they can fit more 'rides' into a given period. It won't be long before some mba big brain figures out lobbying for increased speed limits will do just that.

Post by slt2021 » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 4:35 PM UTC

lazyasciiart wrote: post #78

slt2021 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there are cameras inside, and they can see who made a mess inside the car

That doesn’t do anything except let the taxi go out of service until someone cleans it - assuming that it would identify vomit without waiting for customers to complain after they sit in it.

  1. operator or computer vision detects dirt in salon
  2. route the autonomous vehicle to contracted carwash
  3. return car back to service
  4. charge customer for the cleanup

Post by bluGill » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 4:36 PM UTC

mortenjorck wrote: post #76

kfajdsl wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand that you're being glib about buses or trains, but the driver is a large part of the operating costs of a bus, and additionally driverless buses might make more frequent but smaller buses more economical.

The reductive "you just invented $existing_thing" framing is so tiresome. There are so very many opportunities for a better surface transport system than buses. Dynamic routing and scheduling, capacity somewhere between a city bus and a taxi, and potentially better economies of scale all make this far more appealing than what exists today. Also – and I know acknowledging this will not go over well in some circles – r…