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GM’s self-driving company Cruise is offering robotaxi rides in California without the presence of a human driver. After years of working on his fleet of autonomous vehicles, Cruise received regulatory approval in June. Now the CEO confirmed its service is rapidly expanding to Austin and Phoenix.
Kyle Vogt, CEO of GM’s Cruise, announced that within the next 90 days, its autonomous taxi vehicles would begin operating in Austin, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. Additionally, the CEO explained that the approval process in these cities only took three weeks, compared to nearly two years in San Francisco.
Some fun news – @Cruise will bring self-driving rides to Austin and Phoenix later this year. pic.twitter.com/ZCSuVz3DwM
-Kyle Vogt (@kvogt) September 12, 2022
Once the fleet of vehicles is up and running in both cities, ordinary people will be able to hail a taxi like they would an Uber, and an autonomous Cruise robotaxi will appear to take them safely to their destination.
It’s worth noting that Cruise dealt with a number of issues and roadblocks early on, and the test got off to a terrible start. At one point, more than a dozen vehicles stopped for no reason, blocking traffic for hours on end. Last month, Cruise issued a recall and updated its software after a crash caused two injuries. However, it seems that things are now on the right track and the company is ready to expand rapidly.
Vogt went on to explain that the company went from having no operations in Austin to being able to offer self-driving rides in less than 90 days. In addition, he believes that the company will be able to speed up operations and continue rapid deployment in other cities soon.
So, within the next few months, regular customers will be able to take a self-driving taxi ride with a Cruise vehicle in San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix. Then, looking further ahead, Cruise wants to start making its own silicon chips to power the vehicles and then release its first vehicle to public buyers by 2025.
Imagine being able to buy a Cruise robotaxi. The vehicle can then transport customers and make a profit while you are at a regular job, sitting at home, or sleeping. That is what the future holds.
For those unaware, these autonomous self-driving vehicles are only allowed to drive on “select streets” in San Francisco from 10 pm to 6 am, at speeds of no more than 30 mph, and in ideal weather conditions with no fog or rain. We’re not sure what road limitations or restrictions you’ll have in Austin or Phoenix, but we’ll know more soon.
Font: Twitter
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