Walmart is expanding autonomous delivery pilot with GM’s Cruise this year

In a recent meeting with state legislators, the company's senior government affairs manager said that Cruise plans to expand its self-driving delivery pilot with Walmart in Arizona.

The company is mostly focused on testing and eventually launching a commercial service in California. Cruise has a small fleet of electric Chevy Bolts in Arizona as part of a limited pilot program with Walmart.

The Walmart store is located on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community lands. Human safety operators are behind the wheel of the vehicles. During an Arizona Senate Transportation Committee meeting held earlier this month, Cruise's senior government affairs manager said that the company plans to expand to as many as eight Walmart stores.

Walmart.

The program will be exported to the rest of the country once it grows in Arizona. The team that monitors the company's global fleet is in Arizona. The group is expected to grow, but it isn't clear when more people will be hired.

The comments provided by Stern provided a rare insight into Cruise's activity in Arizona and its pilot with Walmart, which is the only source of revenue for the company.

The company can't charge for delivery in the state because it lacks a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission. Cruise has been providing free delivery services through its partnership with the San Francisco Marin Food Bank. The company said it has completed 113,000 deliveries.

Most of the permits required to operate and charge for rides in vehicles that do not have a human driver behind the wheel are provided by Cruise. There are three permits required by the California Department of Motor Vehicles for testing and deployment of driverless vehicles, and one that allows it to carry the public. The company applied for a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to charge for those rides.

Cruise opened up its service to the public in San Francisco. The rides are free and there is a public waiting list. The company has previously said that members of the public will not have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before using the service.

The initial service is available from 11 pm to 5 a.m. Cruise is testing its Chevy Bolt vehicles in San Francisco. The service is limited to certain areas in the city.