March 24 (Reuters) - Zoox, Amazon's ( AMZN )

self-driving unit, said on Tuesday it will expand its robotaxi

service in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and begin testing its

purpose-built robotaxis in Austin and Miami, marking its

broadest push yet into the U.S. autonomous ride-hailing market.

Alphabet's Waymo leads the robotaxi market, while

Tesla has the financial resources and manufacturing

scale to expand its limited service in Austin, Texas, and plans

to ramp up rapidly across the United States this year.

Meanwhile, Zoox plans to significantly grow its footprint in

San Francisco, focusing on dense, high-demand neighborhoods such

as the Marina, Chinatown and the Embarcadero, while expanding in

Las Vegas to cover more hotels and entertainment destinations

along the Strip.

The company will also begin operating its purpose-built

robotaxis on public roads in Austin and Miami, starting with

rides for employees, their families and friends before gradually

opening to the public later this year.

Zoox said it has logged nearly 2 million autonomous miles

and carried more than 350,000 riders, as it introduces new

features aimed at reducing wait times and improving ride

experience in a crowded and fast-evolving sector.