Transport Topics (December 10, 2020)

General Motors’ self-driving car company Cruise is sending out vehicles with nobody behind the wheel in San Francisco as it navigates its way toward launching a robotic taxi service. Cruise’s self-driving cars have been allowed on California public streets for several years with humans poised behind the wheel to take over in an emergency. Now, Cruise is confident enough to send out its self-driving cars without that safety net, although they still will be monitored by humans from remote locations instead of inside the vehicle. California regulators also recently approved new rules allowing ride-hailing services to pick up passengers in self-driving cars, but Cruise isn’t going down that road yet. Cruise’s employees most likely will be the only passengers initially riding in the fully driverless cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices