What it's like to ride in a Cruise driverless car
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Let's Cruise. Photo: Jay R. Jordan/Axios
Jay here! I had the chance to ride around with the newly launched Cruise driverless ride-hailing service and wanted to share my experience.
Catch up quick: Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors Co. with operations in Austin, Phoenix and San Francisco, launched commercial service in the Bayou City last week, allowing Houstonians to take rides in its fleet of driverless vehicles for the first time.
Driving the news: I took a ride this week to see the tech firsthand.
- Here's how it went down.
What happened: I met the car outside a restaurant in Montrose for the pickup, and it sure was zippy on its approach. My destination was Frank's Pizza in downtown.
- Within the first minute of the ride, while attempting a left turn, the car jolted right and got honked at by another driver before making the turn.
The intrigue: After that little mishap, the ride went smoothly — until it didn't.
- About 20 minutes into the ride, a nasty pothole in the road tripped the car's collision-detection technology, making the car think it had hit something in the road. The car displayed a notice of the reported collision on the screen and connected me with a customer support agent.
- The car kept driving for a few seconds before stopping in the middle of the road without any blinkers or hazard lights on. It almost immediately took off again.
- I confirmed with customer support that the car hadn't been involved in a crash and continued on my way.
When I got downtown, the car dropped me off a block away from my destination.
- I'm young and able-bodied, so a block's walk is nothing — but I can imagine it being a pain for some.
The return ride was less eventful and more like what you'd expect from a typical ride-hailing service.
- Across both rides, the cars did a great job of stopping for a jogger crossing the street, swerving out of the way of an oncoming bicyclist, and slowing down for traffic that was blocking the intersection.
Thought bubble: I felt comfortable yet hesitant during the ride. I have to say I'd take it again despite some of the hiccups on my first go-round.
Also: I spoke with Cruise's general manager over Houston operations, Sola Lawal, about what challenges the company saw when testing in Houston.
What they're saying: "We hope to have a really strong impact on safety and getting people where they need to go, getting them home as they should be," Lawal said. "If you look at San Francisco, you look at Austin, they are fairly similarly laid out on this grid system. For our downtown, it is similar, but as you start to get into Montrose and Midtown and EaDo, it can look a little different."
Details: Cruise currently operates from 9pm to 6am with a limited service area inside the Loop.
- For a limited time, rides are a flat $5.
- You have to sign up for a waitlist to take a ride.