A cruise ship in San Francisco on February 2, 2022.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
General Motors’ Cruise’s self-driving car unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roads for the first time since October, starting with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix. company says Tuesday.
On Oct. 2, a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by another vehicle, a incident that came just weeks after the company halted operations.
A third-party investigation ordered by GM and Cruise found that cultural issues, incompetence and poor leadership were at the heart of the regulatory oversight that led to the crash. The investigation also looked into allegations of a cover-up by Cruise’s leadership but found no evidence to support those claims.
As of late January, Cruise was under investigation by multiple entities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“In October 2023, we suspended fleet operations to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and redesigning our approach to safety.” Cruise said in a blog post. “We have made significant progress with the guidance of new company leadership, input from third-party experts and close partnerships with the communities where our vehicles operate. We are committed to achieving this improvement through continued efforts.”
Cruise said Tuesday that its “goal is to resume driverless operations” but did not provide a timetable for doing so.
The company called the restarted fleet of human drivers “a critical step in validating our self-driving systems as we work to return to our driverless mission.”
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