General Motors said that Cruise will begin redeploying self-driving cars on Tuesday. It will first deploy a small group of test fleets equipped with safety officers in Phoenix, and then expand to other cities in the United States.
Last October 2, a Cruise self-driving taxi malfunctioned after being hit by another vehicle in San Francisco, dragging a pedestrian 20 feet. In the same month, Cruise announced a nationwide suspension of driverless operations due to a series of safety incidents.
In addition to ceasing operations, Cruise has also undergone significant leadership changes. Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, have resigned, and nine other leaders have been fired and subsequently laid off. 24% of employees and a group of contract workers were recruited. Details can be found in previous reports by IT Home.
On the 9th local time, the company stated that the suspension of its autonomous driving business was to rebuild trust and redesign safety protocols. “Significant progress has been made in these areas.”
Cruise said the redeployed vehicles will not operate as self-driving taxis as before, but will instead “create maps and collect road information in select cities, starting with Phoenix.” Data such as signs and traffic lights.
A company spokesperson said their “goal is to resume driverless operations” but did not provide a specific timetable. The company’s goal is to regain trust and build partnerships with communities, eventually working with cities to resume operations of fully driverless vehicles.
