Glossary
Robotaxi
A taxi service in which a self-driving car carries passengers without a human driver in control.
A robotaxi is a ride-hailing vehicle that drives itself. Services typically operate within a defined area and set of conditions, which engineers call the operational design domain, and may expand over time as regulators allow.
Not every service called a robotaxi has nobody on board. Some run with an employee in the driver's or passenger seat, and most rely on remote assistance. Safety statistics depend on which miles are counted, how crashes are defined, and what the comparison baseline is.
Company-published safety figures are claims. Regulatory crash reports and independent analysis are the main ways to check them.
Read more: our explainer