I Rode A Zoox Car in San Francisco, California

And I will do it again and again because it is now one of my favorite things to do

Photo Credit: Darrin Atkins

Yesterday afternoon I hailed a ride in a Zoox autonomous car in San Francisco. And in the evening I did it again.

What is the verdict?

Well, I liked it a lot, especially because for now the rides are free of cost and free goes a long way in this world.

Before the Ride

I happened to get an early invitation to join a while back and I downloaded the Zoox app right away so that I would be ready to use it when the opportunity was given.

Believe me, I was in San Francisco a number of times over the last month when I wanted to try Zoox, but their system was down or the cars were not active for one reason or another.

These days, there is a set geographical zone where Zoox operates that may not be helpful or convenient for everybody, but I’m assuming that one day the zone will expand more.

The Day Arrives

I’m glad my son was with me because I may not have figured it out myself.

The app didn’t do anything until we got inside the zone I referred to earlier. We walked west of Yerba Buena Gardens and then the Zoox app was activated and asked me to enter a credit card, which is expected.

After I did that, we were ready to request a ride. We needed a lift to Oracle Park to watch the Giants game against the Mets. Given Zoox doesn’t go that far, we picked the closest address to the ballpark as we were okay with walking the rest of the way.

Photo credit: Darrin Atkins

What To Do

At first I thought the ride was like hailing an Uber or taxicab, as in the driver would go to where you are standing.

My son corrected me. He indicated on the map that we needed to walk to the Zoox pickup spot on the app and that we would be picked up there.

We started walking and could see that we had plenty of time to get there before the Zoox car arrived. Later in the evening, when we did the second ride, we requested it too early and then we had to hustle to the pickup spot for fear of losing our ride. Granted, the app indicates that the car will wait five minutes before leaving so we did not have to hustle so much.

The Ride Was Fun

Once the car arrived, while we were standing outside, we looked at the app and pressed the button to open the doors.

We both got inside. Nothing happened until my son said that we need to close the doors by pressing the button on the screen inside the car. So I did that.

Then the car started moving through traffic. The display screen tells you how much time until you arrive at your destination, and you can easily adjust the temperature control and the music.

I liked everything about the ride. The seats and passengers face each other so that was fun. The ride was comfortable and smooth. There were cupholders and charging stations too.

Was there anything not perfect? Well, next time I will switch seats so that I am facing the direction that traffic is going, because I don’t like the opposite of that.

Plus, it requires a little patience. Although I never wanted either ride to actually end, sometimes it took a little longer than expected because San Francisco has plenty of one-way streets and traffic limitations in certain areas.

Right now the rides are free for those who have the Zoox app and an early access invitation. Can I see myself riding Zoox when it costs money? Yes, but up until a certain price point.

The fun and comfort of Zoox is a big deal for me because I have spent plenty of years on crowded buses and trains. And I liked and enjoyed my Zoox experiences.

It’s the future now. And to emphasize the point, we were a few times stopped in our Zoox autonomous vehicle at traffic lights next to or behind self-driving Waymo cars, and that is just a different experience for me who didn’t grow up with these.