Tags: transportation

Amazon-owned Zoox announced plans to map the streets of Washington, D.C. using manually driven Toyota Highlanders equipped with its sensor suite and software. The mapping effort will precede a rollout of autonomous vehicle testing later in the year, with human safety operators behind the wheel. The capital will become Zoox's eighth test site as the company expands its fleet of custom‑built robotaxis and moves toward a commercial service, pending additional regulatory clearances from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Lire la suite

Tesla’s effort to roll out a robotaxi service in California has sparked confusion among state regulators. Although the company touts a driver‑less future, the vehicles currently operating have safety drivers and lack the required permits for fully autonomous testing or commercial use. Emails between Tesla and officials reveal a back‑and‑forth over clarifying the service’s true nature, with the automaker avoiding direct answers. Regulatory agencies, including the California DMV and the NHTSA, note that Tesla has not applied for the necessary authorizations, intensifying scrutiny of the company’s autonomous‑vehicle roadmap. Lire la suite

Waymo is partnering with transit‑technology firm Via to embed its driverless robotaxis into Chandler, Arizona’s Flex microtransit service. Riders will book rides through the Chandler Flex app and may be matched with Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, which will operate on a fixed schedule and flat‑fee structure. The collaboration builds on Waymo’s earlier experiments linking robotaxis to public‑transit hubs in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and follows similar microtransit pilots by other autonomous‑driving startups. Officials view the partnership as a way to broaden access to driverless mobility while complementing existing bus routes. Lire la suite

Waymo announced that it will introduce its Jaguar I-Pace SUV and Zeekr‑made van to Denver and Seattle this week, initially operating the vehicles manually before commencing autonomous testing. The company aims to launch robotaxi trips in Denver next year and in Seattle as soon as regulatory approval is granted. The move adds two extreme‑weather cities to Waym o’s growing U.S. footprint, which already includes more than 2,000 robotaxis nationwide and plans for further commercial launches in Dallas, Miami and Washington, D.C. Lire la suite