Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company owned by General Motors, has announced plans to expand its self-driving taxi service, which recently launched in California, into new markets in Arizona and Texas before the end of 2022.
Startup Cruise was bought by General Motors six years ago, and recently informed an audience at an investor conference that its autonomous ride-hailing service would be debuting in Phoenix and Austin in Texas within the coming 90 days.
As it has been doing in San Francisco, the robotaxi service will carry passengers in vehicles that won’t have a safety driver in them to take control in the event of a technology malfunction.
No additional details were provided.
Another robotaxi service, operated by autonomous driving technology Waymo, currently operates in Phoenix, and will serve as direct competition for Cruise. Waymo is also reported trialling self-driving taxis in San Francisco but hasn’t yet been authorised to charge passengers.
Despite Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt telling investors that the driverless ride-hailing service in San Francisco is winning over some of Waymo’s customers, the company reportedly encountered problems days after its permit was granted to collect fares.
In a regulatory filing made earlier this month, it was revealed that Cruise had recalled 80 robotaxis for a software update after a vehicle was involved in an accident resulting in minor injuries.
The company informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that a vehicle had made an unprotected left turn at an intersection, where it collided with another vehicle. According to the disclosure, the Cruise taxi was then towed away.
