# California will allow GM-backed Cruise to transport passengers in driverless test vehicles



## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

From CNBC... 

Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company that’s majority owned by General Motors, may soon be giving rides in driverless test vehicles to passengers in California.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said on Friday that Cruise is authorized to give passengers rides in prototype robotaxis.

In a public statement, the CPUC said Cruise is the first autonomous vehicle developer to obtain such a permit. In order to allow passengers to ride in their test vehicles without a driver on board, Cruise may not charge fees for the rides and will have to submit quarterly reports about its autonomous vehicles, as well as a passenger safety plan, the CPUC said.

As CNBC previously reported, Cruise expects production of its Origin driverless shuttles to start in early 2023. The company’s test fleet currently includes hundreds of Chevrolet Bolt EVs, which are equipped with Cruise’s driverless technology.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, and Cruise are both seeking permits needed to start charging for rides and deliveries using their autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, according to a Reuters report in May.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Should we start a pool as to how long before a collision?


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

No safety driver? Sounds like a bad idea.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

My current full time job is as a safety driver for one of the autonomous vehicle companies that operate in San Francisco. I can confirm that the current state of autonomous vehicle systems is nowhere near being ready for driverless vehicles to operate in this city. Nowhere near. On a daily basis I have to stop the vehicle from running stop lights and signs, taking out pedestrians on crosswalks etc etc.

One of the companies, Waymo, does operate a driverless taxi service in a small geofenced area of Phoenix, but its vehicles are shadowed by support vehicles containing safety drivers who "rescue" the autonomous vehicles when they get stuck. It's hardly comparable to a human taxi driver, who is able to be released in public to work totally unsupervised and unmonitored.


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## Beninmankato (Apr 26, 2017)

Damn they are determined to eliminate jobs.


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

Beninmankato said:


> Damn they are determined to eliminate jobs.


Ants are far too expensive.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

The Gift of Fish said:


> My current full time job is as a safety driver for one of the autonomous vehicle companies that operate in San Francisco. I can confirm that the current state of autonomous vehicle systems is nowhere near being ready for driverless vehicles to operate in this city. Nowhere near. On a daily basis I have to stop the vehicle from running stop lights and signs, taking out pedestrians on crosswalks etc etc.
> 
> One of the companies, Waymo, does operate a driverless taxi service in a small geofenced area of Phoenix, but its vehicles are shadowed by support vehicles containing safety drivers who "rescue" the autonomous vehicles when they get stuck. It's hardly comparable to a human taxi driver, who is able to be released in public to work totally unsupervised and unmonitored.


This is exactly what I’ve expected. Thanks for your info.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

_Tron_ said:


> Should we start a pool as to how long before a collision?


I think we could also take a poll on how long someone is stuck in the car because of a garbage can.


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