A cruise ship in San Francisco on February 2, 2022.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
General Motors’ Cruise’s self-driving car unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roads for the first time since October, starting with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix. company says Tuesday.
On Oct. 2, a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by another vehicle, a incident that came just weeks after the company halted operations.
The company said the redeployed vehicles will not operate as robo-taxis as before, but will instead “create maps and collect road information in selected cities, starting in Phoenix.”
Cruise said its “goal is to resume driverless operations” but did not provide a specific timetable. It has not yet provided a timetable for expanding human-driven vehicles to other cities.
The company called the restarted fleet of human drivers “a critical step in validating our self-driving systems as we work to return to our driverless mission.”
“In October 2023, we suspended fleet operations to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and redesigning our approach to safety.” Cruise said in a blog post. “We have made significant progress with the guidance of new company leadership, input from third-party experts and close partnerships with the communities where our vehicles operate. We are committed to achieving this improvement through continued efforts.”
GM and Cruise ordered a third-party investigation into the October incident and its aftermath, which found cultural issues, incompetence and poor leadership were at the heart of regulatory oversight that led to the crash. The investigation also looked into allegations of a cover-up by Cruise’s leadership but found no evidence to support those claims.
Cruise said in January it “accepted” the report’s conclusions. The San Francisco-based company, about 80% owned by General Motors, said it would act “in accordance with all” recommendations and “fully cooperate” with investigations by state and federal agencies following the Oct. 2 crash.
The company said in January that investigations into or questioning the incident include the California DMV, California Public Utilities Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Before the crash, Cruise was planning to aggressively expand robotaxis outside of its home markets where most of its vehicles operate.
In addition to halting operations, Cruise’s leadership has been weakened: Co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted. The joint venture laid off 24% of its employees as well as a group of contractors.
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