Plans to introduce fully driverless taxis to London are facing delays despite Uber and Wayve recently receiving private hire vehicle licences for autonomous cars in the capital.
The important distinction is that the vehicles currently licensed by Transport for London still require a human private hire driver to be sitting behind the wheel and ready to intervene.
Removing that driver and operating a genuinely driverless passenger service requires additional regulatory approval that operators have not yet secured.
Transport for London has confirmed that the necessary process has not progressed far enough for fully autonomous passenger services to begin as originally anticipated.
Companies including Uber-backed Wayve, Waymo and Baidu have all been preparing autonomous taxi operations for London as Britain attempts to establish one of Europe’s first major robotaxi markets.
Earlier this month, Uber and Wayve appeared to take an important step towards that goal when TfL granted private hire vehicle licences to a number of Wayve’s autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles.
Uber said at the time that selected people from a waiting list of more than 100,000 Londoners would be offered early autonomous rides later in the summer.
However, those initial journeys are designed to operate with a TfL-licensed private hire driver inside the vehicle.
The driver remains responsible for the vehicle and can take control if necessary while Wayve’s automated driving system operates the car.
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A completely driverless service faces a different approval process.
Operators wanting to carry passengers without a human driver need approval through the emerging automated passenger services regulatory framework, including the relevant national vehicle and safety authorisations.
TfL must also establish how fully autonomous private hire services will operate within London’s existing transport and licensing system.
Fresh reporting indicates that no operator has yet completed the necessary vehicle registrations or submitted the required permit application to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for fully driverless passenger operation.
TfL has also yet to publish its final operational guidance for companies wanting to provide these services in London.
The authority says that guidance will be published shortly, but a firm date for accepting fully driverless service applications has not been confirmed.
This means headlines earlier in August saying robotaxis had been licensed for London should not be interpreted as permission for vehicles to immediately carry passengers around the capital with nobody in the driver’s seat.
The licences granted to Wayve’s vehicles represented an important step, but they relate to private hire vehicles operating with licensed human drivers present.
Uber and Wayve can therefore continue progressing towards supervised autonomous passenger journeys while the separate framework for fully driverless operation is developed.
The delay is particularly significant because several major technology companies have been competing to establish an early position in London’s autonomous taxi market.
Waymo has been testing vehicles in the capital, while Chinese autonomous-driving company Baidu has also announced plans to bring its Apollo Go robotaxis to Britain.
The Department for Transport is developing the wider regulatory framework needed for commercial self-driving passenger services, with the full Automated Vehicles Act regime expected to come into force in 2027.
For London’s existing taxi and private hire drivers, the latest development suggests that the transition to vehicles operating commercially without drivers is likely to be more gradual than some earlier launch announcements implied.
It does not mean London’s robotaxi plans have been abandoned.
Instead, supervised autonomous rides can develop while regulators work through the considerably more complex question of allowing vehicles to transport paying passengers without a licensed driver inside.
The next major milestone will be publication of TfL’s operational guidance and the submission of the first applications for fully driverless passenger services.
Until those approvals are secured, London’s autonomous taxis may increasingly appear on the streets, but a human driver will remain part of the journey.
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Sources
The Independent – Driverless Taxi Rollout Delayed in London After Regulatory Hurdles
The Guardian – London Robotaxi Rollout Delayed Amid Lack of Regulatory Guidance
Uber – Wayve and Uber Move a Step Closer to Autonomous Rides in London
