A new era in autonomous transportation has dawned as Amazon's Zoox unit received approval to start charging for rides in its unique, steering-wheel-free robotaxis.

The groundbreaking move, confirmed Thursday, marks an industry first. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Zoox an exemption from rules requiring human controls, marking a crucial milestone for companies developing robotaxis from the ground up, rather than modifying conventional cars under safety regulations predating self-driving technology.

Zoox's electric, carriage-style vehicle, featuring two rows of inward-facing seats, boasts a top speed of 75 miles per hour.

The company joins others like Tesla and Alphabet's Waymo in the race to expand autonomous ride-hailing services across the United States. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told Reuters that Zoox received clearance to commercially deploy up to 2,500 vehicles in each of the next two years.

Zoox can begin charging for rides

The agency said it determined the vehicle is as safe as an equivalent vehicle meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards that are being waived. Zoox cannot sell any of the vehicles to the public.

"We can say pretty clearly that the systems in place on the Zoox exceed the equivalent performance requirements of a compliant vehicle," he said in an interview. "But we still want to make sure that the automated driving system will operate appropriately."

As part of the exemption, NHTSA is placing additional reporting requirements on Zoox for issues such as crashes or stopping inappropriately on roads, and the regulator will adjust the conditions based on how the vehicles behave.

"We have the ability to pull the exemption if we see major safety issues," Morrison said.

All remote operators must be located in the United States, NHTSA said. Zoox must publish maps of areas indicating where the vehicles are operating.

Zoox currently carries passengers in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco as part of testing. The exemption would allow Zoox to charge them fees, subject to state and local approvals.

Morrison said NHTSA expects to develop the first federal safety standards for automated driving systems by the end of the Trump administration. It is also proposing to overhaul some existing rules written with human drivers in mind such as requiring brake pedals and rear-view mirrors.

Robo-taxi safety concerns

Zoox's approval caps its years-long effort to commercialise its robotaxi under regulations developed before self-driving technology emerged. Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020, about six years after the company was formed.

Tesla has started producing a Cybercab that lacks human controls, but it has not outlined its path for regulatory approvals.

Regulators are trying to change rules to allow more self-driving technology while maintaining safety.

This month, Morrison issued a strongly worded letter telling autonomous vehicle developers to "immediately focus" on fixing what NHTSA identified as "a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders."

That, along with issues such as robotaxis driving around stopped school buses or into construction zones, freezing on water-flooded roads or busy intersections and breaking traffic laws, has raised public concerns around safety and led to recalls.

"If we continue seeing issues, we will not hesitate to use the full extent of our enforcement authority," Morrison said.

Following the letter, Zoox recalled its fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles to update the software, saying they might not detect heavy smoke, particularly in active emergencies.

Morrison will speak on Thursday about some of the agency's safety efforts at SAE International's Automated Transportation Symposium in San Diego.