Zoox T-Mobile Arena Drop-Off Field Report

Key Zoox T-Mobile Drop-Off Field Report Findings

Zoox T-Mobile Drop-Off Field Report

Special Field Correspondent David Moss headed to Las Vegas to see what a Zoox robotaxi ride would be like now that the company charges for rides. David ordered a Zoox from Resorts World ahead roughly an hour ahead of game time of to see if he could make it to the arena on time and what the drop-off experience would be like at the arena.

Ordering a Zoox

Ordering was the first pain point. David opened the Zoox app at 6:04 PM, nearly an hour before the 7:00 PM game. The app was fully booked because of high service demand and wouldn’t let him into the queue. By 6:40 PM a Zoox was five minutes away for a mock drop-off from Resorts World Las Vegas.

Zoox Pricing

The Zoox fare from Resorts World Las Vegas to T-Mobile Arena was $42.26. Waymo was $18.68, Uber Electric $25, Uber Premium $26.97, and Uber Premium SUV $37, with Uber Premium XXL also cheaper than Zoox.

From the T-Mobile Arena to the Sphere, Zoox quoted $62.71. Waymo was $16.66 with a drop-off at The Venetian, UberX $20.96, Comfort Electric $22.98, and Uber XXL $28.98 and Premier $36.99.

Zoox Robotaxi

Inside, the Zoox has a starry headliner and ambient lighting. Riders start the trip on the touch screen, since closing the door doesn’t start the ride. Riders can pair their own phone over Bluetooth and play their own audio, which worked without issues. The doors didn’t open on their own at pickup and stayed locked briefly after the vehicle stopped.

Zoox Robotaxi Ride

The driving was smooth. Zoox stopped cleanly for pedestrians, handled police lights in the middle of the lane without hesitation, and held its lane on Las Vegas Boulevard. In one exchange with a reversing driver, it pulled forward as soon as the other vehicle moved, which David called “not very polite.”

Routing was the problem. Instead of turning toward T-Mobile Arena near Dolby Live, the Zoox stayed on Las Vegas Boulevard, turned into the Excalibur, looped through the Excalibur valet, and passed the Luxor valet before working its way back. The cabin screen shows road markers but not the full route, so riders can’t tell where they’re headed. The estimated arrival moved between 7:08 and 7:11 PM, after the 7:00 PM puck drop.

Zoox T-Mobile Arena Drop-Off

Zoox drops riders on the backside of T-Mobile Arena next to the VIP entrance, in a dedicated Zoox lane with its own signage and a Zoox stand.

Zoox Outlook

As Zoox scales in Las Vegas, pay attention to whether it adds enough capacity for event demand, whether pricing moves closer to Waymo and Uber, and whether routing to venues like T-Mobile Arena gets more direct. For now, as David put it, Zoox is “very expensive and still hard to get.”