Cruise now have permission to charge for the robotaxi rides in San Francisco

Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors is preparing to begin full-fledged commercial operation of driverless taxis on the streets of San Francisco, and today a press release has already appeared on the Cruise website announcing that the company has received official permission from local authorities to carry out such transportation. Cruise has overtaken competitors in entering the autonomous passenger transportation market in major US cities.

Cruise has a permission to operate its paid passenger service at a max speed of 30 mph on select streets of San Francisco from 10PM to 6AM. The company is planning to have 30 electric vehicles, offering its ride-hailing passengers paid rides. Those cars aren't allowed to operate on highways, or during times of heavy fog and rain. In its announcement, the company said it will begin rolling out fared rides gradually, including to areas not currently covered by its permit.

The company first received permission to offer passengers free robotaxi rides almost a year ago and opened fully driverless ride-hailing to the public this February. In March, the CPUC gave Cruise (and Waymo) permission to start charging their passengers, but only for rides with a safety driver. Now, Cruise can charge customers even if there's nobody else onboard. The company called this development a "major milestone for the shared mission of the AV industry to improve life in the cities."