GM’s push into the driverless car world is… self-driving shuttle buses?

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It seems like everyone is trying to figure out their place in this driverless future we are inevitably heading towards. Whether it’s Tesla and its Autopilot features or Waymo with its self-driving taxis, everyone seems to be jumping on board.

Now, GM is looking to join the fray with its own look at a driverless future. The Cruise Origin removes all the unneeded parts (steering wheel, peddles, etc) and uses that space for more seating to provide a futuristic-looking shuttle bus for six.

The Cruise Origin takes a unique approach to our driverless future

By removing the steering wheel, the rearview mirror, the pedals, and more, we’re left with something simple: space. pic.twitter.com/K3tS0QxuSC

— cruise (@Cruise) January 22, 2020

The Cruise Origin from GM is an interesting little box. Because it is driverless and doesn’t require all the normal car things, there is more room for seats. It sits six people and reminds me more of train seating where people can sit in a group looking at each other.  It’s also electric, because of course it is.

In a blog post, Cruise CEO Dan Ammann notes that the Cruise Origin will help with congestion, lower waste, and work 10 times harder than your average car. The electric vehicle is modular, which means that parts are easily replaced and allows the shuttles to be on the road as often as possible.

First, I think it’s important to note that while all of this technology is cool to look at from a distance, it simply isn’t ready for real-world use yet, even with companies pushing for it hit the streets sooner rather than later. For one, people are just too dang dumb to use it and two, our entire transportation infrastructure would need to be rebuilt to truly allow self-driving vehicles to thrive.

That being said, Ammann said at an unveiling party in San Francisco on Tuesday that it isn’t just some silly concept, but in fact ready for production. I’m all for our driverless future, but definitely taking this with a pinch of salt for now.

What do you think? Interested in this self-driving shuttle from GM and Cruise? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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