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.
