Cruise granted permit to carry paying riders in San Francisco
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General Motors' (NYSE:GM) Cruise has become the "first and only company to operate a commercial, driverless ride-hail service in a major U.S. city" after inking the appropriate permits in San Francisco. The green light was granted by the California Public Utilities Commission, allowing the GM (GM) subsidiary to charge a fare for its driverless rides. Cruise's cars are also fully electric and battery-powered, a big win for reducing emissions in the climate conscious San Francisco.
Bigger picture: "Crossing the threshold into commercial operations isnât just big news for Cruise alone. It is a major milestone for the shared mission of the AV industry to improve life in our cities," the company wrote in a blog post. "And it's a giant leap for our mission here at Cruise to save lives, help save the planet, and save people time and money."
Cruise has defended its safety track record by noting that its vehicles understand complex social dynamics and take safety actions as a default. Even San Fran officials have conceded that the driverless Cruise AV appears to generally operate as a "cautious and compliant defensive driver." According to a tally by Reuters, Cruise AVs suffered 34 accidents involving bodily harm or over $1,000 in damage across nearly 3M miles of driving during a four-year span.
The competition: Alphabet's (GOOG) (GOOGL) Waymo began offering free autonomous rides to a limited number of SF natives last August and recently ditched the safety drivers on board. It has also completed "tens of thousands" of rides without a driver behind the wheel in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona. Meanwhile, Tesla's (TSLA) Elon Musk has often touted ambitious timeframes for the company's much-vaunted robotaxi (most recently promised for 2024), but the vehicle technology has yet to be fully delivered.