Cruz halts robotaxi services across the country to 'earn public trust'

Autonomous vehicle operator Cruise, backed by General Motors, says it has decided to "actively pause" its fleet of driverless cars across the United States. The halted operations just two days after California regulators suspended Cruise's robotaxi permit in the state, claiming its vehicles are "not safe for public operation."

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it was investigating Cruise after reports of pedestrian injuries caused by the company's driverless vehicles. A notable incident that occurred in San Francisco on October 2 resulted in a woman being pinned under a Cruise robotaxi, which was hit by another driver and thrown into the path of the autonomous vehicle.

A post on the robotaxi service claimed that the decision to halt business is "not related to any new on-road incidents" and that supervised autonomous vehicle operations will continue. "We feel this is the right thing to do during a period when we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to risk, focused on security, and taking steps to rebuild public trust," the company said.

Before the pause, Cruise had operated its driverless robotaxi services in Austin, Phoenix and Houston. The company is also conducting autonomous driving tests in other areas like Miami, San Francisco and Dallas and plans to expand to Seattle and Washington DC.