Controversial self-driving Cruise cars return to Houston streets
The scandal-magnet company will begin human-operated driving tests in Houston. The news came shortly after it announced that Dallas would resume operations. Cruise, the General Motors-owned autonomous rideshare company, has resumed operations in Houston, Texas, with a move to operate "human-driven" vehicles before transitioning into autonomous rides. The company will initially operate with three manually operated vehicles, before transitioning to autonomous driving with a safety driver present in the coming weeks. This comes after Cruise recalled its fleet of 950 autonomous vehicles across multiple U.S. cities after an incident where a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian in California. Despite a brief stint in Dallas, Houston, and Austin last year before shutting down, Cruise resumed driving tests in Arizona in April 2024. Houston will be its third test city as the company attempts to "rebuild trust."
Опубликовано : 10 месяцев назад от Janet Miranda в Auto
With the recent announcement that Cruise cars were back on Dallas roads, it was only a matter of time before the self-driving rideshare company moved to restart operations in Houston. The General Motors-owned autonomous rideshare company said on Tuesday that it would return to the Bayou City to operate "human-driven" vehicles, before jumping into autonomous rides.
"Houston, we missed you! Today we’re resuming driving in Houston where we’ll build on the knowledge collected last year. We’ll start with human-driven vehicles and move to supervised autonomous driving with a safety driver behind the wheel in the coming weeks, guided by safety," the company wrote on X.
A Cruise representative told Chron that the company would restart operations in Houston on Tuesday with three manually operated vehicles. Cruise will transition to autonomous driving with a driver present in the coming weeks. "No specific timing to share just yet," spokesperson Tiffany Testo said.
In a similar vein, the business restarted operations in Dallas last week, beginning with human-operated driving tests before transitioning to self-driving rideshares. "We're excited to start driving in Dallas as we continue to validate our self-driving technology against our rigorous safety and performance standards," Cruise wrote in a message on X.
The company declined to comment on whether they would move to restart operations in any other Texas cities besides Dallas and Houston.
Cruise's Texas relaunch comes after the company recalled its fleet of 950 autonomous vehicles (AVs) across multiple cities in the U.S. after an October incident where a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian in California. The company, which had a spotty, short-lived stint in Dallas, Houston, and Austin last year before shutting down, resumed driving tests on public roads in Arizona in April 2024. Houston will be its third test city, as the company attempts to "rebuild trust."