According to individuals familiar with the matter, General Motors Co.’s Cruise autonomous driving unit is preparing to resume Robotaxi testing in the upcoming weeks. Houston and Dallas are being considered as potential locations for the testing, following the grounding of its fleet last year.
The Cruise LLC unit is currently in discussions with officials from various metropolitan areas, including the two cities in Texas, to resume tests on public roads with safety drivers. Before suspending operations due to safety concerns in October, the company had a significant number of cars in San Francisco, as well as smaller numbers in Austin, Houston, and Phoenix. Cruise had been on the verge of launching its driverless car service in Dallas before it was halted.
The Robotaxi company has been striving to gain the trust of the public following an unfortunate incident in San Francisco in October, where one of its vehicles collided with a pedestrian and dragged them.
This incident led to accusations from regulators that Cruise, the company behind the Robotaxi, deliberately withheld crucial footage and information about the incident. Consequently, Cruise’s license in California was suspended, prompting the company to take drastic measures. They have terminated several high-ranking executives, downsized their workforce by 25%, and appointed a new chief safety officer to rectify the situation and ensure the safety of their operations.
Cruise spokesperson Pat Morrissey stated that the company has not established a specific timeline for deployment. Their objective is to relaunch in a single city with manually driven vehicles and supervised testing as soon as possible once they have taken the necessary steps to regain the trust of regulators and the public.
Currently, Cruise is engaging with officials in select markets to gather information, provide updates, and rebuild trust.
“We have not set a timeline for deployment,” Cruise spokesperson Pat Morrissey said in a statement. “Our goal is to relaunch in one city with manually driven vehicles and supervised testing as soon as possible once we have taken steps to rebuild trust with regulators and the public. We are in the process of meeting with officials in select markets to gather information, share updates, and rebuild trust.”
The company’s focus for its comeback plan is primarily on Texas, as the state has more lenient regulations for autonomous vehicle operations. However, Cruise’s suspension in California hinders its ability to resume operations in San Francisco, where its headquarters are located.
According to a source familiar with the matter, significant progress has been made in Houston, where Cruise is preparing to deploy safety drivers. Testing in that city is expected to commence in the upcoming months.
As of now, Cruise has not made a final decision on the initial city for relaunch. The company is actively communicating with regulators and city officials to ensure that their testing efforts are welcomed before proceeding, as stated by one of the sources.
