Largest ‘robo-taxi’ operator in the US suspends driverless operations

The largest operator of ‘robo-taxis’ in the US has suspended operating its driverless autonomous vehicles across the country and paused production of a dedicated ‘self-driving’ shuttle, following safety concerns and investigations due to numerous incidents.

News agency Reuters reports late last month Cruise – a robo-taxi company owned by US car giant General Motors and Japanese auto-maker Honda – removed all of its driverless vehicles from US roads, with all of the cars now operating with a ‘supervisor’ behind the steering wheel.

The decision came only a handful of days after California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended the company’s permits to operate its driverless vehicles in the state.

The California ban was issued after Cruise failed to disclose that one of its driverless cars dragged an already-struck pedestrian along the road – having only shown investigators the first part of the incident where its vehicle came to a stop, but not the following seconds where the robo-taxi continued to drive.

While Cruise’s robo-taxis largely operate in San Francisco and the nearby San Mateo region, the company also has autonomous vehicles in Phoenix, Houston, Austin, Dallas and Miami.

According to Reuters, Cruise has also temporarily paused production of its ‘Origin’ driverless six-seat shuttle, which are planned to be introduced to public roads at a yet-to-be-determined time.

Last month, GM and Honda signed an agreement for the Cruise Origin to roll-out in Japan from 2026, with 500 of the autonomous shuttles first becoming available in Tokyo before expanding throughout the country.

The suspension of driverless operations and Origin production mark the latest low points in a torrid year for Cruise, which has been marred by incidents involving pedestrians and probes into its safety.

In addition to the hit-and-run incident, there have been at least three other instances in which a pedestrian or passengers have suffered injuries due to a Cruise robo-taxi.