Self-driving car service Cruise halts autonomous operations in Arizona, nationwide

Cruise, an autonomous vehicle operator and subsidiary of General Motors, announced Thursday evening it was pausing driverless operations nationwide, representing a swift change in the company’s stance.

The company initially said Arizona operations would not be affected after the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise’s permit to operate driverless vehicles in San Francisco.

In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, the company said taking steps to rebuild public trust was its priority, which involved taking a look inward.

“In that spirit, we have decided to proactively pause driverless operations across all of our fleets while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and reflect on how we can better operate in a way that will earn public trust,” the statement said in part.

The company said the move did not have anything to do with any new on-road incidents, and that autonomous operations will continue, but with supervision, rather than solely autonomously.

Cruise has a service area of about 100 square miles in the Valley, covering portions of Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix.  

In Arizona, Cruise had been operating only with its the first group of testers, which the company calls its “power users.” Those users have registered with Cruise and use the service for free.

Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @CorinaVanek.