Zoox's purpose-built robotaxi reaches public roads in California

A Zoox robotaxi carried dozens of employees on multiple trips via public roads linking two of the company's offices in Foster City, Calif., on Saturday. Last week, the California Department of Motor Vehicles granted Zoox a permit to deploy its purpose-built robotaxi on the public roads along the route. Further permits from California's DMV and Public Utilities Commission would be required to carry non-Zoox employees in commercial service on public roads. But other purpose-built autonomous shuttles have also carried people on public roads. For example, Google carried employees in its prototype Firefly vehicle on public roads in Mountain View, Calif., and later carried Steve Mahan, a blind passenger, on public roads in Austin, Texas, in October 2015.