Amazon’s Zoox launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas on Wednesday, offering free rides through parts of the entertainment mecca for anyone willing to gamble on the safety of a driverless vehicle. It is also raising concerns from some activists and union leaders who say the autonomous vehicles could hurt workers who rely on rideshare apps to make a living. 

The Las Vegas debut of Zoox’s long-planned ride-hailing service reflects the Amazon-owned robotaxi maker’s confidence in the safety of its boxy vehicles after two years of testing them in the city. But the safety of the service isn’t the only thing worrying some locals. 

Arjun Lal, a rideshare driver who works with Lyft and Uber and a leader within the Justice for App Workers coalition, said the loss of drivers to autonomous vehicles could affect the local economy. The revenue generated by robotaxis goes to wherever their companies are located. Zoox, for instance, is headquartered in Foster City, California. 

Lal pointed out that Uber and Lyft drivers live and spend money in the communities they service. 

“The money that he’s making as an employee in his local state or a village, stays where he is,” he said. “When you take away someone’s job, you’re hurting the community, you’re hurting people, you’re hurting their families.”  

Lal, based in New York City, said besides being frustrated by the potential loss of jobs, he is also concerned with the safety of the vehicles for pedestrians and other drivers. 

In the last legislative session, union leaders attempted to push through a bill to regulate the use of autonomous vehicles. Tommy Blitsch, secretary treasurer for Teamsters Local 631 in Las Vegas, said Teamsters had sponsored bill SB395 to require autonomous big rig trucks, at least 26,000 pounds or above, to have one person in the vehicle at all times for safety. According to Blitsch, the bill died in the Assembly.

The robotaxis initially were only available to Zoox employees in Las Vegas before gradually expanding to friends and family members. Now, anyone with the Zoox app will be able to request a ride to five designated locations, including Resorts World, the Luxor hotel and the New York-New York hotel. The longest distance the Zoox robotaxis will travel is about 3miles while carrying up to four passengers. 

All rides will be provided for free for at least the first few months to help promote the service in the perennially popular travel destination. Once it begins charging for rides, Zoox says its prices will be comparable to traditional taxis and ride-hailing services.

Blitsch said the implementation of autonomous vehicles could have serious repercussions for Las Vegas workers, including putting “more people on the unemployment line.” 

“These things are created to eliminate jobs,” Blitsch said. “If a company has a vehicle that doesn’t need a driver, they save money on the labor of the driver.” 

Zoox can afford to give free rides largely because of Amazon’s deep pockets. The e-commerce powerhouse, currently worth $2.5 trillion, bought Zoox for $1.2 billion five years ago as part of its efforts to establish a foothold in other fields of technology.

The Las Vegas market marks Zoox’s first step in its attempt to catch up with robotaxi leader Waymo, a Google spin-off that already offers driverless rides in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin, Texas, (where Tesla is still in the testing phase of a robotaxi service that its CEO, Elon Musk, has been hyping for the past decade).

While Waymo implants its driverless technology in vehicles built by traditional automakers, Zoox is manufacturing its distinctively designed robotaxis in a former bus factory in Hayward, California, about 25 miles southeast of San Francisco.

In a sign of its ambitions, Zoox hopes to manufacture as many as 10,000 robotaxis annually as it expands into other markets. While the company is testing its vehicles in San Francisco, it hopes to open up its service to all passengers next year.

Zoox is operating about 50 vehicles in Las Vegas and San Francisco, with most of them in Nevada for now. After it starts charging for rides in San Francisco, Zoox hopes to expand to Austin and Miami.