Uber To Begin Offering Self-Driving Cruise Cars
The partnership will allow Uber riders to choose Cruise autonomous vehicles for qualifying rides.
Uber Technologies has announced plans to incorporate self-driving cars from Cruise LLC into its ride-hailing platform starting next year.
The multiyear partnership between Uber and Cruise will allow Uber riders to choose Cruise autonomous vehicles for qualifying rides.
“An Uber rider requesting a qualifying ride will have the option of choosing a Cruise autonomous vehicle,” the companies stated in a joint announcement on Thursday.
General Motors’s Cruise has been working to regain momentum after an incident in October led to the grounding of its fleet. One of the San Francisco-based company’s vehicles was involved in a collision with a pedestrian, who sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized for several months.
California regulators subsequently revoked Cruise’s driverless permit, citing a lack of transparency about the incident.
Cruise is aiming to resume fully autonomous operations later this year, with plans to begin charging fares by early 2025, according to a Bloomberg report that cited sources familiar with the situation.
Uber stated that the Cruise self-driving car option will be available in one U.S. market initially; it declined to specify the location.