Image: Tesla

Tesla is preparing to launch its Cybercab robotaxi in Austin, Texas, as soon as this month. The rollout would put the company’s first vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals onto public roads for operations.

The launch is expected to begin with rides for Tesla employees before the vehicles are added to the company’s existing robotaxi service. Tesla has been testing production Cybercabs on public streets since June and has also been running employee rides on private roads and training local first responders in Austin.

The Cybercab is central to Tesla’s plans to build a larger autonomous ride-hailing business. Unlike the modified Model Y vehicles currently used by the company, the two-seat vehicle has been designed from the outset without conventional driver controls.

The timing puts the Cybercab under scrutiny because Tesla’s current autonomous ride-hailing operation remains small. The company reported 380,000 cumulative driverless miles across its Robotaxi hubs in its latest earnings update. Rival Waymo, which has operated a commercial driverless service since 2020, has recorded more than 220 million rider-only driverless miles by comparison.

Tesla’s existing service also relies on a mixture of supervised and unsupervised vehicles. Third-party tracking cited in previous Zag Daily coverage put the number of active unsupervised vehicles across Austin, Dallas and Houston at 32, while the wider robotaxi fleet had also contracted sharply.

Source: Zag Daily

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Image: Electrek

Nevada’s Transportation Authority granted Tesla a permit to run driverless vehicles in Las Vegas last month and capped the fleet at 10 cars. Tesla’s application had asked for 5,000.

The permit also confines Tesla to an approved stretch of the Strip, bans pickups at Harry Reid International Airport, and limits the vehicles to 45 mph.

Tesla Robotaxi, LLC filed docket 26-05015 with the Nevada Transportation Authority in early June, seeking an Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit. The application covered all of Clark County and requested authority for up to 5,000 vehicles during the first 12 months. It specifically named Harry Reid International Airport and Henderson Executive Airport as pickup locations.

The Authority signed off on July 27. Ten fully autonomous vehicles, operating only inside a geofence the regulator has to approve, with a 45 mph ceiling and no airport service.

There are conditions beyond the fleet cap. Every vehicle has to be labeled “robotaxi,” passengers have to be told they’re riding driverless, and the trips require “appropriate human supervision.” Growing the fleet past 10 means going back to the Authority for a new approval.

Nevada regulators haven’t publicly explained how a 5,000-vehicle request became a 10-vehicle permit.

Amazon’s Zoox holds AVNC Permit 001 in Nevada. Its most recent amendment, issued July 16, eleven days before Tesla’s, authorizes a “fleet limited to no more than one hundred (100) vehicles.” Zoox is currently running roughly 50 on the Strip and started charging for rides this month after clearing its federal hurdle.

Waymo filed its own Nevada application in June, docket 26-06007. Uber’s Aviari Services subsidiary filed in July. Both are pending, and Waymo already went fully driverless in Las Vegas in early July.

Tesla is the third autonomous operator to reach the Strip, and it showed up asking for the biggest allocation by a factor of 50.

Source: Electrek

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Feds Back NJ Drivers' Bid to Void NYC Congestion Pricing

The Trump administration threw its support behind New Jersey and out-of-state drivers suing to shut down New York's congestion pricing, saying a Biden-era federal agreement that gave New York's program the green light was invalid from the start. The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a Friday court filing that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority are continuing to implement a program that imposes tolls on federally funded highways in violation of federal law.

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The Day Big Albums Start Streaming, Traffic Deaths Surge

A new study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open, found a 15% increase in traffic fatalities on the days major new albums are released, compared with the days immediately before and after.

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DC Traffic Deaths More Than Doubled Compared to This Time Last Year

Updated data from the Metropolitan Police Department shows there are twice as many traffic deaths this year compared to this time in 2025. Neighbors are sounding the alarm, saying not enough is being done to prevent these tragedies.

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BC Transit, St. Albert Transit to Invest in New Buses

BC Transit will begin replacing Port Alberni Transit System's five medium-duty buses with newer model light-duty buses while St. Albert Transit has contracted Nova Bus for 13 40-foot diesel buses.

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Superior Court Affirms Bus Hitting Manhole Cover Is Collision for Purpose of Accident Benefits

The motion of the bus as it drove over the raised manhole cover threw the respondent, a bus passenger, from her seat. Due to this incident, she sustained catastrophic injuries.

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Transit Advocates Welcome Transit Windsor Fare System Upgrade

A local transit advocacy group is applauding Transit Windsor’s new Umo fare payment system, calling it a long-overdue improvement that will make riding the bus more convenient. Activate Transit Windsor-Essex community organizer Nate Hope says he’s been testing the app for the past couple of months and expects riders will appreciate being able to reload fares from home rather than travelling to a transit terminal or retailer.

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Chinese Robotaxi Firms See Eased Regulatory Bottleneck in Europe as Deployment Picks Up

The business environment for Chinese robotaxi operators in Europe has become more open over the past year, which would help Chinese firms to commercialise their self-driving technology worldwide, according to Pony AI founder and CEO James Peng. “Compared to last year, there is a clear increase in the openness towards autonomous driving and the willingness to gradually open up some areas for pilot projects in Europe to bolster commercial application,” he told reporters in an online media briefing on Tuesday.

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Bolt Launches First Pedal Bikes in Estonia and Latvia

The Estonian mobility company has launched the service in Tallinn and Tartu in Estonia, and the Latvian capital Riga. It has deployed just over 100 bikes in each city, giving Estonia a total of more than 200 vehicles and Latvia roughly 100.

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Tyred Teams Up with ZEN to Offer Free Bike Repairs for Londoners

Launched in 2012, ZEN consists of more than 3,000 members made up of businesses and households across Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Westminster and the City of London. The body has delivered thousands of initiatives, including the UK’s first cargo bike rental scheme, to facilitate the capital’s shift towards low-emission transport.

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Seoul to Triple Late-Night Autonomous Taxis in Gangnam

SWM and Kakao Mobility, the two operators of the Gangnam service, will increase their fleets from five to 13 vehicles and from two to six, respectively. Gangnam-gu is the only district in Seoul currently operating an autonomous taxi service, which was launched in 2024. A total of 15,140 rides were recorded between Sept. 26, 2024, and July 31 this year, according to the city.

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GAC Supplies 115 Aion EVs for Grab’s Ride-Hailing Fleet in Thailand

GAC has delivered 115 Aion EVs for use on Grab's ride-hailing platform in Thailand through two separate partnerships: 100 units under a tie-up with CLVG and ICBC (Thai) Leasing, and 15 units through a collaboration with Siam Taxi Cooperative. It recently held separate handover ceremonies of these EVs in Bangkok.

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Australian Hydrogen Aviation Start-Up to Close After Completing First Taxi

Australian aerospace start-up Stralis will close after completing the first taxi of its hydrogen-electric aircraft at Brisbane International Airport, a feat it called the first in the Southern Hemisphere. In a farewell statement, the firm said it had proven that hydrogen aviation technology works, but it was unable to bridge the gap to commercial feasibility in time to sustain operations.

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Image: Government Accountability Office

According to a U.S. GAO report, pursuant to Congress' direction in 2023's Sami's Law, data from major ridehailing companies reveals that serious physical and sexual assaults are statistically rare - occurring in roughly 1 in 500,000 rides according to data from major rideshare providers like Uber and Lyft.  The Los Angeles and Chicago police departments found that approximately 0.3% of verified and reported assaults occurred in a ridehail or taxi vehicle.

Ridehail companies have adopted features to make customers feel safer, including allowing customers to request a female driver. Rider-verification programs and in-app video recording are examples of solutions designed to improve driver safety. Taxi operators report that they prefer driving in vehicles with partitions and cameras; however, the expense is a factor in their adoption.

Source: Government Accountability Office

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