Uber and GM's Cruise to Introduce Robotaxi Services in 2025
In an unexpected twist, Uber and GM's Cruise have joined forces, announcing a "multiyear strategic partnership" scheduled for 2026. This collaboration aims to bring driverless vehicles, commonly referred to as robotaxis, onto the Uber platform. While specifics remain scarce, such as costs and city availability, both companies are optimistic about launching this service by next year.
Vaguely hinting at the participating cities, a Cruise spokesperson told Gizmodo that Phoenix, Arizona, Dallas, Texas, or Houston, Texas, might be the lucky locations. Cruise plans to launch its own driverless app and service before this partnership takes off.
Uber has had a history with self-driving vehicles, albeit not a fruitful one. In 2017, Uber inked a deal with Volvo for a self-driving program, but it never fully materialized. Uber did experiment with robotaxis in Las Vegas in 2022, but they still remained under human supervision. The overwhelming struggle to achieve large-scale, reliable, and safe self-driving cars in service industries has been an elusive dream for many companies for over a decade.
In a statement, Marc Whitten, CEO of Cruise, emphasized their commitment to using driverless technology for the betterment of urban life. He expressed excitement about partnering with Uber to introduce the benefits of safe and reliable autonomous driving to a wider audience, marking a new era in urban mobility.
It's worth noting that Cruise's operating license was suspended in California due to an incident in October 2023 where a self-driving vehicle collided with a pedestrian in San Francisco. Services resumed in Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas following the incident, albeit temporarily.
The pitch for self-driving taxis usually revolves around the safety aspect, along with the potential to reduce labor costs. This narrative has been a point of controversy, considering Uber's history of suppressing wages and repeatedly breaking labor laws in the taxi industry. With Uber now holding significant authority in the industry, there's an understandable concern about the potential displacement of drivers, a matter that seems to have been overlooked in this partnership's announcement.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, much like his Cruise counterpart, chose to focus on safety while pitching the idea, ignoring any potential labor issues that may arise. For now, we await further updates on the timing and geographic availability of these cars in the upcoming robotaxi program. Stay tuned for updates.
[1] The closure of General Motors' Cruise subsidiary occurred in December 2024.[2] Uber has collaborated with Waymo and is exploring partnerships with other AV companies. However, Cruise, due to its closure, is not part of these collaborations.
[1] As we look towards the future, the tech industry remains excited about the developments in autonomous driving, with Uber and GM's Cruise renewing their focus on robotaxis, scheduled for 2026.
[2] While Cruise's closure in December 2024 temporarily halted their progress, this new multiyear strategic partnership with Uber might reinstate their presence, leading to a possible expansion of geographic availability of robotaxis.
[3] Given Uber's past ventures into self-driving vehicles, both companies are hopeful that this collaboration could spearhead safe and reliable robotaxis, thrilling the tech community.
[4] As the tech sector moves closer to the vision of an uberized future with robotaxis, concerns over job displacement persist, leaving many questioning the impact this technology will have on the taxi industry labor force.
