• Company received first-ever Driverless Deployment Permit from California Public Utilities Commission
General Motors Co’s (NYSE: GM) Cruise has become the first and only company to operate a commercial, driverless ride-hailing service in the US as the company on Thursday said it has received the first-ever Driverless Deployment Permit granted by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The development will allow Cruise to charge fares for driverless rides in San Francisco, a step towards commercialization of the service.
Self-driving test cars with human safety drivers have become a constant sight in San Francisco, and fully-autonomous driverless ones are increasingly common too.
“It is a major milestone for the shared mission of the AV [Autonomous Vehicle] industry,” the company said in a press release, as running a full-fledged business in a major US city marks a milestone in the long, delayed journey toward driverless taxi service.
The self-driving tech firm said that the fared driverless rides are currently taking place in the northwest third of the city, adding that it would expand the service gradually.
Picture Credit: Bloomberg
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