Autonomous vehicles are a common sight in San Francisco, with Waymo operating throughout the city, and the introduction of Zoox in the Mission and SoMa neighborhoods. Now, Zoox has announced they are significantly expanding its service area in San Francisco.
The company announced that Zoox cars will be available in many of the Eastern neighborhoods in the city, including Marina, North Beach, Chinatown, Pacific Heights, and the Embarcadero. Adding the new neighborhoods will quadruple the service area, and it includes many busy neighborhoods known for their bars and restaurants.
As of now, Zoox is not available to everyone in San Francisco. You can sign up for the waitlist if you are interested in trying the new autonomous vehicles. Early riders are part of the “Zoox Explores” program, as the company slowly rolls out the vehicles in San Francisco.
The company has also announced plans to expand its presence to other cities, including Austin and Miami. Zoox is notable for its unique designs, with bench seats facing each other in the interior. The vehicle doesn’t resemble a typical car and is easily identifiable by its bright blue color.
Zoox has not yet released when it will be fully available to the public; however, they are still accepting people off the waitlist. Zoox works just like a typical ride-share app, offering point-to-point service for riders (within the geofenced areas). You can select an address or suggested drop-off location when riding, and wait for your car to pick you up.
Earlier this year, Waymo announced it was expanding its service to include the San Francisco International Airport for a select number of riders.
