- Uber's attempt to develop a self-driving car ended after a prototype struck and killed a pedestrian in 2018.
- Yet the company has continued to express interest in driverless cars as a way to cut out its chief expense: paying drivers.
- It's now tapping GM's Cruise—which itself had a pedestrian incident last year—to supply it with autonomous vehicles.
Uber's own autonomous vehicle development program ended in disaster back in 2018, when a prototype self-driving car struck and killed a pedestrian. Yet the appeal of driverless cars remains too strong for a company that's chief expense is paying drivers. So the ride-sharing giant is teaming up with General Motors' robotaxi company, Cruise—itself no stranger to controversial autonomous vehicle (AV) incidents—to get self-driving cars on its platform.
The companies plan to launch the "strategic partnership" next year, according to a release. Uber customers in participating markets will be given the option of having their ride request fulfilled by a Cruise robotaxi. The release did not contain details about what markets the partnership will apply to, what the pricing structure will be or whether this will wholly replace Cruise's own ride-sharing operations.
Cruise had to suspend operations in fall of 2023, after an autonomous taxi operating without a driver dragged a pedestrian under its wheel. Cruise and authorities note that the vehicle did not initially strike the pedestrian, but that the pedestrian was thrown into the AV's path after being struck by a human driver. After detecting the incident, the Cruise vehicle allegedly attempted to pull over, dragging the victim underneath its tire. Authorities alleged that Cruise was not forthcoming with all of its video evidence of the event, and its CEO was pushed out over the incident. Cruise has since resumed its operations, but it's certainly faced a major setback.
Yet the tie-up with Uber, while clearly a win for Cruise, is surprising nonetheless. GM invested $500 million in Uber's chief rival, Lyft, back in 2016. It wasn't just a financial deal. GM was also planning to develop a fleet of self-driving cars to run on Lyft's ride-sharing platform. That never came to pass, and it's not clear how much of a stake GM still has in Lyft. Given that the company is now partnering up with its main rival, it's hard to imagine that there's much future in that relationship.
But GM's clearly found another path. Uber will give Cruise access to a larger customer base, while Cruise gives Uber the autonomous taxis it has long craved. The question is whether Cruise can deliver an acceptably safe and refined driving experience at a price that—when factoring in the cost of pricey AV hardware—still beats out human drivers.
Contact the author: Mack.hogan@insideevs.com.
