According to media reports, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Cruise, the autonomous driving company under General Motors, plans to resume fully autonomous taxi services later this year and may start charging fares before early 2025.
Based in San Francisco, Cruise has been striving to reintroduce autonomous driving services. Last October, the company's fleet operations were suspended due to mishandling of an accident by the former management. At that time, one of Cruise's vehicles collided with and dragged a pedestrian, resulting in the pedestrian being hospitalized for several months. California regulators revoked Cruise's autonomous vehicle operating license, stating that the company did not proactively provide accident details.
Since then, Cruise has been working to restart its operations, undergoing a significant management overhaul by appointing a new CEO and repairing relations with regulatory agencies. Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that with the new team in place, the company aims to resume fully autonomous operations by the end of this year, possibly reintroducing fares early next year. A spokesperson for Cruise declined to comment on this news.
During General Motors' earnings call on July 23rd, CEO Mary Barra mentioned that Cruise's technology has been improved to meet stricter safety standards and is progressing towards restoring safe driving practices.
Barra assured investors, saying, "Cruise's driving technology is far superior to that of benchmark drivers. I am very confident because we now have vehicles in operation and are quickly returning to the roads of autonomous driving with safer technology."
The company began operating its vehicles in Phoenix since April and has recently expanded to Dallas and Houston. While Cruise updates maps, driving data, and tests its technology in these cities, vehicles continue to be equipped with safety personnel.
