Cruise says it has “not set a timeline for deployment” of its self-driving fleet following a report the company could soon test its cars outside of San Francisco.
The controversial robotaxi firm is in talks to resume testing its autonomous-vehicle technology in multiple metropolitan areas in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The outlet specifically mentioned Dallas and Houston — but not San Francisco — as potential relaunch sites.
The rollout would include as few as 10 cars in each city and no passengers, Bloomberg reported.
But a Cruise spokesperson maintained that the company’s plans have not changed, and nothing has been decided.
“We have not set a timeline for deployment,” the spokesperson told The Examiner. “Our goal is to relaunch in one city with manually driven vehicles and supervised testing as soon as possible once we have taken steps to rebuild trust with regulators and the public. We are in the process of meeting with officials in select markets to gather information, share updates and rebuild trust.”
The Examiner asked the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority, which oversees The City’s transit, whether the agency has had any talks with Cruise about allowing the company's vehicles back on San Francisco streets, but didn’t hear back before publication.
Cruise’s fleet of robotaxis has been grounded nationwide for months due to the fallout from an October crash in downtown San Francisco in which one of the company’s vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet while she was pinned underneath it.
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The victim, a woman who has not been identified, spent roughly two months in the hospital before being released in January.
An August vote by the California Public Utilities Commission cleared Cruise — along with its rival Waymo — to operate its ride-hailing service without restrictions throughout San Francisco at all hours of the day. But Cruise’s fleet, both locally and nationally, progressively diminished in the ensuing months after a series of high-profile traffic stumbles, culminating in the October collision.
The crash — and Cruise’s alleged coverup of key information during a state investigation into the incident — ultimately prompted the company in October to pull all of its vehicles off the road.
Since then, Cruise cars have only driven on the company’s training courses, which are closed to the public.
Now, Cruise — which is still under investigation by state and federal agencies, including the U.S., Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission — is working to rehab its image and reacquire the state-issued permits which allow it to operate in California.
Part of that process included the company hiring its first chief safety officer earlier this month. Steve Kenner stated at the time of his hiring announcement that one of his goals was to work with and earn the trust of state regulators.
