Autonomous vehicle venture Cruise, which is a majority-owned by General Motors, announced that it has received a green light for commercial driverless taxi service in San Francisco, reports News18.
First-ever Driverless Deployment Permit
The company said that in February it began welcoming members of the public to experience the service and now it is going commercial.
“Today, we received the first-ever Driverless Deployment Permit granted by the California Public Utilities Commission, which allows us to charge a fare for the driverless rides we are providing to members of the public here in San Francisco,” the company said in a blog post.
The company mentioned that Cruise will be the first and only company to operate a commercial, driverless ride-hail service in a major US city.
“Now with this approval, we will begin rolling out fared rides gradually, expanding in alignment with the smoothest customer experience possible. As always, our focus is on delivering a magical and safe service for our riders,” the company said.
Fully electric and battery-powered cars
The company’s cars are fully electric and battery-powered, which is also a potential win for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
The company told CPUC in an April 2021 letter that it aims to make California roads safer and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier, the California Department of Motor Vehicles approved autonomous vehicle deployment permits for both Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo, the report said.
Cruise was already offering nighttime rides to the public in San Francisco in its driverless cars, although it had not yet required passengers to pay a fare.
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Source: News18
As a mechanic, I am always keeping an eye on the latest developments in the automotive industry, and I was excited to hear the news that GM’s autonomous car has been given the green light to go driverless. This is a huge step forward for the industry and it’s exciting to see how this technology will change the way we think about cars and transportation.
One thing that came to mind when I heard this news is the impact it will have on Public Car Auctions in Long Island. With the rise of autonomous cars, there may be a decline in the demand for traditional cars and an increase in demand for cars with autonomous features. It will be interesting to see how this affects the prices and availability of cars at auctions in the future.
As a mechanic, I also believe that this technology will change the way we work, it will change the way we diagnose and repair cars, and it will require us to have a different set of skills. We will need to understand the technology that makes these cars drive themselves and how to fix them.
If you’re in Long Island and looking for great deals on cars, I recommend checking out https://sca.auction/locations/branch-ny-long-island-613 for Public Car Auctions. You never know what you might find there, and who knows, you might even find a car with autonomous features.