Self-driving taxis could be returning to Houston streets and elsewhere in Texas, despite controversy over the technology.
General Motors-backed Cruise LLC, which operates self-driving cars on public roads, said in June that it was resuming manual and supervised autonomous testing of its cars in Houston. The Bayou City is one of the first cities where Cruise has announced its return, along with Phoenix and Dallas neighborhoods.
Supervised autonomous driving, which includes a safety driver, began this week in Houston, the company said. A Cruise spokesperson told the Houston Business Journal that manual and supervised cars were operating in some Houston areas, Bellaire, West University Place and the Memorial Villages. Only three cars are operating in Houston, compared to the 25 that Cruise previously operated locally.
Over time, the company plans to expand to the Greater Fifth Ward and the rest of the northeast portion of the 610 Loop. Currently, public passengers are not being taken.
San Francisco-based Cruise was forced to pause operations in October 2023 after a pedestrian was dragged by a Cruise vehicle in California when the vehicle’s systems did not recognize a person beneath the car. The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the company’s permit to operate in the state.
The incident came only weeks after the company rolled out self-driving cars in a service area between Houston's downtown, River Oaks, East Downtown and Montrose neighborhoods. Cruise had also been giving driverless rides in Austin at the time of its pause.
Cruise said it has been in contact with city officials, first responders and community leaders about its return to Houston. The company said it has instructed first responders on how to engage with the fleet.
"We are committed to close collaboration with Houston officials as partners sharing updates and changes as our work progresses," Cruise said. "Safety is our North Star throughout this process. We are measuring our manual and supervised operations against predetermined safety benchmarks which will ultimately guide our return to a fully driverless service."
A report from the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law firm found that then-CEO Kyle Vogt had been involved in downplaying the company’s initial response to the October 2023 incident. Vogt stepped down as CEO in November, and the company laid off over 100 California employees.
Cruise hired a new chief safety officer, Steve Kenner, and GM Executive Vice President Craig Glidden is serving as president and chief administrative officer of the company.
Following the June announcement of Cruise’s return to Texas, local unions have continued to push back against autonomous driving technology. Robert Mele, president of Teamsters Joint Council 58, said the technology has not proven itself safe for the general public or workers who have to drive on the same roads.
“This isn't a Republican or a Democrat issue. This is a safety issue,” Mele said. "We encourage policymakers and other stakeholders to call for accountability from Cruise and other driverless car and truck companies before, and not after, they have a chance to operate on our roads.”
Teamsters Joint Council 58 represents four teamsters unions across Texas, including in Houston. A Teamsters spokesperson told the HBJ that the union has not had any contact from Cruise prior to the company’s rollout.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 212,770 heavy vehicle drivers in Texas in 2023, and the Houston area saw the fifth-highest employment level for heavy-duty and tractor-trailer drivers. The union said that tens of thousands of other Texans who drive smaller vehicles like taxis and package delivery vans for a living could be impacted by autonomous vehicles as well.
“State legislators have a solemn duty in this matter to keep dangerous autonomous vehicles off our streets and keep Texans safe,” the Teamsters wrote in an October letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “Autonomous vehicles are not ready for prime time, and we urge you to act before someone in our community gets killed.”
In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2205, setting ground rules for autonomous vehicle operation in the Lone Star State. Part of that bill included a provision preventing Texas cities or state agencies from regulating autonomous vehicle operations.
In addition to autonomous taxis, self-driving commercial trucks could be on Houston roads by next year. California-based Kodiak Robotics and Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc. (Nasdaq: AUR) have both built infrastructure in Houston and are running payloads up and down the Interstate 45 corridor with drivers behind the wheel. Companies such as FedEx and Maersk have already partnered with both autonomous driving tech companies.
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