FREMONT, Calif.—Self-driving startups like Cruise have begun testing their driverless cars in some parts of California in the past year, with an additional feature: Human operators. Cruise majority-owned by General Motors Co, started operating five driverless vehicles in San Francisco at night in October 2020 with a human in the front seat. The minder has “the ability to stop the vehicle at any point during the ride,” a Cruise spokesman said. “Cruise views the development of self-driving vehicles as not only a tech race, but also a trust race,” the spokesman added. “Given that, we keep humans in the loop in testing driverless vehicles not only as a means of safe development, but also, beyond that, in order to build trust with the public.” South Korea’s automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group has invested in remote operation startup Ottopia, which will provide remote assistance for the robotaxi fleets by Hyundai’s self-driving …