Cruise is redeploying robotaxis in Phoenix after almost 5 months of paused operations, the corporate stated in a weblog submit. The catch? The automobiles can be in so-called “manual mode,” so that they gained’t be driving themselves.
Cruise will resume handbook driving of its autonomous automobiles to create maps and collect highway data in sure cities, beginning with Phoenix, the corporate stated Tuesday. The Normal Motors subsidiary already had a presence in Phoenix earlier than it pulled its entire U.S.-based fleet last year following an incident in San Francisco that left a pedestrian caught beneath and dragged by a Cruise robotaxi.
Previous 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 development technique the corporate was pursuing simply final 12 months. Throughout its pause, Cruise continued testing its autonomous car 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 stated in its weblog submit.
Cruise has not introduced when or the place it can resume driverless operations. The corporate’s predominant operations had been traditionally based mostly in San Francisco, however Cruise misplaced its permits to function there following the accident. Cruise started increasing its paid service area in the Phoenix area in August 2023. Alphabet’s Waymo — Cruise’s predominant competitor that’s nonetheless lively in San Francisco — has operated a paid, driverless robotaxi service within the space since 2020 and final 12 months doubled its service space in downtown Phoenix and launched driverless rides to the airport.
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