GM exec: Cruise is set to start autonomous taxi service next year

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle subsidiary plans to start running a fully autonomous taxi service in San Francisco next year.

Doug Parks, GM’S product development and purchasing chief, told analysts Thursday that he has ridden in a Cruise vehicle with no driver and the company is very close to deploying the service.

“The technology is really coming,” Parks said at the Deutsche Bank Autotech Conference. “We’re on our way, targeting commercial deployment next year.”

Parks also threw cold water on speculation that the company would spin off the majority-owned Cruise, saying that GM believes the companies create more value as a combined entity.