Self-driving technology company Cruise is expanding its operations to more cities in Texas.
The company, backed by General Motors, said Wednesday that it will begin "supervised testing" with a safety driver at the wheel next week in Houston, followed by Dallas at a future date. A Cruise spokesperson told Automotive News the initial deployments in those cities represent "the first step to launching driverless operations with no safety driver in the car."
Cruise currently operates commercial driverless robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, as well as San Francisco and Phoenix.
"Exciting news for Team Cruise!" GM CEO Mary Barra wrote Wednesday in a LinkedIn post. "Another step closer to the autonomous future as people experience driverless rides in new areas."