Cruise is redeploying robotaxis in Phoenix after practically 5 months of paused operations, the corporate mentioned in a weblog put up. The catch? The vehicles might be in so-called “manual mode,” so that they received’t be driving themselves.
Cruise will resume guide driving of its autonomous autos to create maps and collect highway data in sure cities, beginning with Phoenix, the corporate mentioned Tuesday. The General Motors subsidiary already had a presence in Phoenix earlier than it pulled its whole U.S.-based fleet final yr following an incident in San Francisco that left a pedestrian caught below and dragged by a Cruise robotaxi.
Prior to that incident, Cruise had been saying launches in new cities — together with Dallas, Houston and Miami — at a startling tempo. Critics accused the corporate of increasing too quick and reducing corners on security.
Now Cruise seems to be going again to fundamentals, a pointy pivot away from the aggressive progress technique the corporate was pursuing simply final yr. During its pause, Cruise continued testing its autonomous automobile know-how in simulation and on closed programs. Creating high-quality maps and gathering highway data but once more ought to enable Cruise to fulfill elevated security and efficiency targets, the corporate mentioned in its weblog put up.
Cruise has not introduced when or the place it can resume driverless operations. The firm’s major operations had been traditionally primarily based in San Francisco, however Cruise misplaced its permits to function there following the accident. Cruise started increasing its paid service space within the Phoenix space in August 2023. Alphabet’s Waymo — Cruise’s major competitor that’s nonetheless energetic in San Francisco — has operated a paid, driverless robotaxi service within the space since 2020 and final yr doubled its service space in downtown Phoenix and launched driverless rides to the airport.
This information is growing. Check again in for updates.