GM Cruise to resume robotaxi testing in California this fall – Orange County Register

By David Welch

Cruise, the self-driving vehicle division of General Motors Co., plans to start operating robotaxis in California this fall for the first time since the company's license was revoked in October following a pedestrian accident.

The testing will be small-scale, with no more than five vehicles being tested with test drivers behind the wheel to conduct development work. Cruise said Thursday that the cars will be used in Sunnyvale and Mountain View. It will not drive in San Francisco, where the company has run into trouble with regulators.

It took Cruise nearly a year to get cars back on California roads following last year's crisis after one of the company's cars struck and dragged a pedestrian. The company's vehicles also had problems with emergency responders and human drivers in the city.

The situation led to the resignation of founder Kyle Vogt, the firing of nine executives and the layoff of 25% of the workforce. The company began testing vehicles in Phoenix, Dallas and Houston this year and hopes to resume fully driverless rides in one of those markets in the coming months.