Cruise begins offering driverless robotaxi rides in Houston

GM-owned robotaxi service Cruise continues to expand its reach of driverless rides throughout the US, announcing a start of services in Houston – its fourth major city. Houston locals can now join the waitlist to take a spin in one of Cruise’s EVs, see below.

Cruise is a robotaxi startup founded in the San Francisco Bay area a decade ago. In that time, the company (along with plenty of support from GM) has made tremendous progress in its home state of California, where it continues to try and expand.

The Bay Area has acted as an initial proving ground for Cruise’s electric robotaxis, with its hilly, congested terrain servicing 24/7 robotaxi operations, much to the chagrin of some of the locals wielding traffic cones to deter them. From there, we’ve seen the company expand to new cities, including Phoenix and Austin, alongside job posts hinting at eyes on Dallas soon as well.

Before then however, Cruise will begin operations to the east in Houston, announcing a start of driverless rides soon.

Cruise opens waitlist for driverless rides in Houston

Cruise announced entry into Houston via its X account, sharing that it is now welcoming public rides in its driverless EVs. As you can see in the image above, the robotaxi operator will begin in a specific but signifcant portion of Houston to begin and is now accepting reservations.

Houston locals can now join the waitlist to test out Cruise’s robotaxi service by signing up here. Rides will operate from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to start. With a current population around 2.3 million, Houston is hands down the most populous city in the Lone Star State, so it will be interesting to see how the Cruise vehicles fare.

We’ve already seen some robotaxi traffic congestion in Dallas, but that appears to have been an isolated incident due to construction and higher-than-anticipated foot traffic. If you happen to be in Houston and go for a ride, let us know how it went!