Until now, this type of service was only available in San Francisco, with drivers behind the wheel during the day, but without a driver at night.

Cruise’s fleet currently consists of Chevrolet Bolt vehicles (known as the Opel Ampera-e in Europe), equipped with sensors, Lidar systems and cameras.

An original self-driving shuttle, the Cruise Origin, is still being tested in a closed circuit in Michigan.

It should be noted that part of these new activities will concern home delivery, following an agreement with the Walmart chain. The rest will involve driverless rides.

Although they are still relatively rare, autonomous vehicle operators are multiplying in the US. More and more states are authorising these Level 4 autonomous vehicles (a car that can move or park by itself, without the help of a driver).

Waymo, for example, Alphabet’s division dedicated to autonomous vehicles, has been operating autonomous cars in the Phoenix area for several years. Its activity should soon expand, notably to San Francisco.

Like Cruise and Waymo, other companies, like Aurora and Argo AI, have been working for years on autonomous driving systems and are already running some robotaxis.

Even Amazon is getting into the act, with its Zoox electric autonomous robot taxi, capable of safely carrying up to four passengers. It is currently being tested in San Francisco and Las Vegas.

This is why an initial legal framework was recently put in place in the United States. Autonomous vehicles will now have their own automotive safety standards, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with the goal of clarifying how passenger safety will be ensured.

Elsewhere in the world, China’s tech giant Baidu is also working on this type of project. It has launched a test programme in five major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, where residents can take advantage of vehicles equipped with its automatic driving system called Apollo. Indeed, driverless cabs are no longer just the stuff of science fiction.