Uber Partners With Cruise to Deliver Driverless Rides From Next Year

The deal was made shortly after Cruise agreed to recall nearly 1,200 self-driving cars.

A Cruise autonomous car waits at an intersection in downtown San Francisco on Sept. 12, 2023. Jason Blair/The Epoch Times

Uber is teaming up with General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, to offer users autonomous vehicles on the ride-hailing platform, the two companies announced on Aug. 22.

Uber and Cruise said in a statement that the companies will launch the “multiyear strategic partnership” on an unspecified date next year and use Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles.

Once up and running, Uber users who request a “qualifying” ride on the app will be presented with the option of choosing one of Cruise’s autonomous vehicles.

It is not clear what will count as a qualifying ride on the Uber app.

The two companies did not provide details regarding which locations the new service will be available in.

In April, Cruise said it had resumed testing its autonomous vehicles with safety drivers after pausing operations in October 2023.

The company announced at the time that it had put driverless operations on hold after the California Department of Motor Vehicles said the firm’s autonomous vehicles were “not safe for the public’s operation” and suspended its permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. The suspension followed a series of incidents in San Francisco involving Cruise vehicles, including collisions with other vehicles and pedestrians.

One incident saw a woman sustain serious injuries after she was dragged to the side of a street by one of the company’s autonomous vehicles. A human-driven car first struck the woman, propelling her into the path of one of Cruise’s autonomous vehicles, which then dragged her 20 feet across the ground as it attempted to pull over.

In its April announcement, the company said it has redesigned its “approach to safety” with its self-driving vehicles and “made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which [Cruise’s] vehicles operate.”

Cruise Recalls Nearly 1,200 Self-Driving Cars

The partnership between Uber and Cruise was announced just one day after it was revealed the latter agreed to recall nearly 1,200 self-driving cars due to issues with unexpected braking.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which began its probe of the issue in 2022, 1,194 automated vehicles were recalled because they “may, in rare circumstances involving vehicles or cyclists who suddenly approach the rear of the AV, command an unexpected braking maneuver.”

Such unexpected braking maneuvers may increase the risk of a rear-end collision from a close-following road user, according to the regulator.

Cruise issued software updates to those vehicles that significantly reduced the risk of braking problems, and as a result, the NHTSA closed its investigation into the issue.

Uber, which sold its self-driving division in 2020, already partnered with the autonomous ride-hail service Waymo—formerly the Google self-driving car project—on driverless rides in 2023.

The San Francisco-headquartered company also struck a deal with driverless truck company Aurora earlier this year, paving the way for Uber Freight carriers to begin driverless operations in the coming years.

Trips by self-driving vehicles on Uber’s platform rose six-fold in the June quarter year on year, helped in part by those partnerships.

Reuters contributed to this report.