Uber to Begin Offering Self-Driving Cruise Cars

Uber Technologies Inc. plans to start offering self-driving Cruise LLC cars to customers on its ride-hailing platform next year.

Once the multiyear partnership between Uber and Cruise begins, an Uber rider requesting a qualifying ride will have the option of choosing a Cruise autonomous vehicle, the companies said in a joint statement Thursday.

General Motors Co.’s Cruise has been trying to regain traction after grounding its fleet in October following the mishandling by prior management of a collision with a pedestrian. One of the San Francisco-based firm’s vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian, who was hospitalized for months. California regulators pulled Cruise’s driverless license alleging that the company was not forthcoming with details about the incident.

Cruise is targeting a return to running fully autonomous rides later this year and possibly charging fares by early 2025, Bloomberg reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter.

Uber said the offering will begin early next year in a single market in the US to start, while declining to disclose the location.

Top Photo: A Cruise autonomous taxi in San Francisco, California, US, on Thursday Aug. 10, 2023. California regulators are poised to decide whether two rival robotaxi services can provide around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco, despite escalating fears about recurring incidents that have caused the driverless vehicles to block traffic or imperil public safety, reported the AP. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)