Robotaxis in London? It’s now no longer a case of “if” but “when” – and that could be as soon as this summer. With enthusiastic government backing, UK tech pioneer Wayve’s AI Driver is “ready to go”, its business partner Uber is opening a list for customers who would prefer an “autonomous” ride, and US rival Waymo is gearing up to launch too.
There are plenty of open questions about this new technology, which the London Assembly’s transport committee has been exploring over the past few weeks. Issues include safety for passengers and other road users – including cyclists and pedestrians – accessibility, data protection, the vehicles’ impact on the city’s already congested streets and, not least, the potential for catastrophic job losses among London’s 100,000 or so licensed private hire drivers.
It is not – not quite – a done deal. The operators in Britain face two regulatory hurdles: firstly convincing government agencies that their vehicles meet government and international safety standards and, secondly, gaining approval from local transport authorities. In London, Transport for London will have the final say on whether a service can get going or not.
Surmounting the first hurdle shouldn’t be difficult, although the public still seems unsure. Last October, a YouGov poll found 79 per cent of Britons trusting driverless taxis “not very much” or “not at all”, with 59 per cent saying they would not feel comfortable riding in one “under any circumstances”. The operators have responded by highlighting their vehicles’ record in the United States, their big testing ground to date, with familiarity with the tech alleviating public concerns.
Assembly transport committee chair Caroline Russell of the Green Party found herself “reassured” after a 15-minute Wayve trip earlier this month. “It was very smooth, really quite dull,” she told The Standard. “There are huge possibilities with the technology that makes sure that people obey speed limits and that they don’t drive too close to a cyclist, that they look out for pedestrians wanting to cross the road and obey all the road rules – that’s absolutely great.”
What about the second hurdle? TfL has significant scope under the legislation to consider a proposed service’s impact on its existing transport networks and City Hall policies, and to impose restrictions on where and when the service will operate and how many vehicles can be deployed. And it could say no.
“The roll out of AVs [autonomous vehicles] must support the aims of the Mayor’s transport strategy,” their spokesperson told On London. That would mean compliance with Sir Sadiq Khan’s “Vision Zero” goal to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries from collisions on London’s streets by 2041, as well as his active travel aim that 80 per cent of trips are made by walking, cycling, or public transport by the same date, his air quality and carbon reduction targets, and wider policies for delivering a more efficient and less congested road network.
The Assembly committee will put its suggestions to the Mayor following its meeting on 14 July, at which TfL representatives will be quizzed. It is set to highlight concerns about congestion – “the biggest question that TfL needs to be looking at,” according to Russell – full accessibility to the vehicles for disabled and older Londoners, and potential job losses in the current private hire fleet.
TfL will be setting out detailed guidance shortly, though time will be tight once applications come in – the regulations allow just 42 days for decision-making. At the Assembly session, representatives of AV operators were again in full reassurance mode. In what would still essentially be a further pilot phase, the number of “Robocabs” unleashed onto the streets would a be relatively low “dozens, not hundreds” according to Wayve. They would operate in selected boroughs across outer as well as inner London, and at first with experienced licensed drivers on board, keeping them within the scope of existing private hire vehicle and driver licensing rules, according to TfL.
Agreeing to hold down numbers and support current drivers into backroom roles would limit the impact of the new tech on existing jobs, and fares would be set at current levels too, the operators said. As well as being safer, the AVs could help address “unmet need” in outer London and potentially replace car club vehicles, according to Wayve’s Sarah Gates. Keeping to the speed limit at all times would have a “calming” influence on other drivers, added Waymo’s Ben Loewenstein.
Not everyone is convinced. “London’s transport network is a delicate eco-system and a lot of people’s jobs depend on it, and you’re basically asking us to take a big gamble and see where it goes,” Labour’s Elly Baker told the operators. Momentum seems to be with the operators and their taxi-based market solutions, which TfL may find easier to regulate than to ban. But even if the initial impact is mitigated, the long-term remains uncertain, as technology that is expensive at present becomes cheaper.
Transport consultant and former TfL innovation director Thomas Ableman warned the committee at its first session that the real opportunity “and the threat” of this innovation would emerge “if and when the cost of this technology falls significantly”.
The question then, he said, would be whether robotaxis “are useful for what we want to achieve as a city. Do they do what we want all transport to do – connect as many people as possible to as much opportunity as possible? Is this the right model?”
Instead of an “unconstrained” taxi fleet, the capital could consider the approach used in Oslo, where the public transport network was procuring small AVs for fixed routes connecting low density suburbs to transport hubs, he suggested. “That could be utterly transformative to connectivity in outer London suburbs and for people who currently do not have access to either public transport or private mobility,” he said. Or perhaps an “AV shuttle across Hammersmith Bridge?”
Competing visions then, and big questions for the city. The technology may look unstoppable, but how it is deployed remains very much in contention.
The full London Assembly transport committee sessions can be viewed on the City Hall website here and here. Agendas and minutes of committee meetings are available here. Follow Charles Wright on Bluesky. Photo from Wayve website.
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