General Motors' New Autonomous Service

GM has been accelerating its presence in the area of autonomous driving technology, signalled by the acquisition of Cruise Automation which allowed the automaker to add the software to their cars, as well as deepening the pool of talent that they can draw on for future development. 

Partnering the technology with a new service, GM has released Cruise: a ride-sharing app, for employees of GM and Cruise Automation. Ride-sharing apps for phones are very familiar to most of us now, as they become more commonplace globally, this service is offering its passengers a ride in a self-driving car. Under California law, a human driver must be present in the car in the event that they need to take manual control, again something that is affecting all self-driving vehicle testing.

Combining autonomous driving technology with ride-sharing is something that we have encountered before. That such a veteran car manufacturer is joining this trend clearly demonstrates what the future of our roads is likely to be: dominated by autonomous ride-sharing services that will have long-lasting impacts on cities’ infrastructures and families’ bank accounts. 

References: General Motors     Futurism