You may not be hopping into a driverless ride in Miami just yet, but that future is getting a whole lot closer.

Federal regulators have given Amazon-owned Zoox the green light to begin charging passengers for rides in its fully autonomous robotaxis once the company secures state and local approvals. The unique vehicles don’t have a steering wheel and could eventually operate without brake pedals or other traditional driver controls.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Waymo has already announced plans to bring its driverless ride service to Miami in partnership with Uber. While those vehicles still feature traditional controls, Zoox is taking things a step further by designing cars specifically for autonomous travel.

The futuristic robotaxis feature four inward-facing seats, allowing passengers to face one another instead of the road. Riders can control the music and temperature while the vehicle handles the driving.

Zoox has already been offering free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco, and says more than 500,000 people have ridden in its autonomous vehicles so far.

Not everyone is ready to hand over the keys, though.

Safety advocates say they still want to see more real-world data before fully embracing vehicles without steering wheels or pedals. Federal officials acknowledge there have been instances where autonomous vehicles have behaved unexpectedly, including stopping in the middle of roads or creating issues for emergency responders.

Still, regulators believe the technology has enormous potential to reduce crashes caused by distracted or impaired drivers.

For South Floridians, this is another sign that driverless transportation is becoming less of a science-fiction concept and more of an everyday reality. Between Waymo’s planned Miami expansion and new federal approvals for companies like Zoox, robotaxis could soon become just another way to get around the 305.

Whether you’d trust a car with no steering wheel during rush hour on I-95... that’s a different question entirely.