General Motors’ driverless subsidiary Cruise is offering people in San Francisco a chance to ride in a driverless taxi.
Residents and visitors can take free rides in its battery-powered fleet–with no human backup drivers.
“Ready to go fully driverless?” a form on its website reads. “We can’t wait for you to join the Cruise Rider Community! S.F. friends, you’re first on our list. Beyond The Bay? Don’t fret — we’ll be in more cities soon. Let us know where you are, and we’ll give you a shout when Poppy arrives in your neighbourhood.”
Co-founder Kyle Vogt writes in a blog post, “Today we are opening up our driverless cars in San Francisco to the public. I’m still surprised I can even write those words — this moment really snuck up on me. I work on these cars every day, and I’ve seen every inch of progress. Just 3 months ago I took the first-ever fully driverless ride in a major US city, and it was incredible. When Sourdough arrived, with no one inside, and took me for a quiet ride through the streets of SF, it became clear to me that we’ve built something very special. Now it’s time for us to share it.
“We’re opening a sign-up page on our site today so you can get a driverless ride soon — and free, for now! We’re starting with a small number of users and will ramp up as we make more cars available, so sign up now to lock in an early spot”.
Cruise has also announced it has received an additional $1.35 billion (£1 billion) now it has started operating fully driverless cars. Mr Vogt says this additional money will help expand its team and quickly scale this technology into more communities.
Mr Vogt was joined by GM CEO Mary Barra on a trip in a driverless vehicle last week which was shared in a YouTube video.
(Picture – Cruise)
