General Motors' (GM's) autonomous car subsidiary, Cruise, has opened its robotaxi service to the public in Houston. The company will initially offer the service for a flat rate of USD 5.

The service will be available from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in an ~11 sq mile area, including Downtown, Midtown, East Downtown, Montrose, Hyde Park, and River Oaks neighborhoods. 

Cruise usually deploys a small fleet of around a dozen vehicles when entering a new city and gradually scales up, which could be the plan for Houston as well—as per sources.

Analyst QuickTake: Cruise's commercial operations have hitherto been established exclusively in three cities: San Francisco, Austin, and Phoenix, with the forthcoming addition of Houston to this expanding roster. When it comes to its operations in Texas, the company initiated trials of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts in Austin in December 2022, and it introduced its custom-made Origin vehicles in March 2023. Subsequently, in May 2023, Cruise commenced trials of its robotaxis in Houston and Dallas, initially with a human safety driver at the controls. Gradually, the company progressed to conducting driverless testing and by September 2023, Cruise extended the provision of driverless rides to its employees and a select group of acquaintances.