Self-Driving Taxis Could Be On British Roads In Less Than A Year
Opinions on the readiness of self-driving car tech currently varies wildly – some manufacturers think it’s still eons off, while others reckon we should all already be kicking back while the car goes about the business of driving for us.
Evidently, the British government is taking the latter view, because it’s just announced that it’s going to fast-track plans to run an autonomous bus and taxi pilot scheme in Britain to spring 2026. That, in case you’ve lost track of time, is less than a year away.
Under the plans, announced yesterday by transport secretary Heidi Alexander, private firms will be able to run small-scale trials of autonomous “bus- and taxi-like” services, which will roam around without the supervision of a driver and could be bookable by the general public.
A number of companies are named in the government’s press release as potential operators of these services. One is British outfit Wayve, which plans to operate driverless taxis through its partnership with Uber. Its CEO and founder, Alex Kendall, said:
“Accelerating commercial self-driving pilots to 2026 positions the UK as a leading destination for the deployment of L4 self-driving technology. These early pilots will help build public trust and unlock new jobs, services, and markets. For Wayve, this means we can prioritise the UK for early deployment and help deliver safer, cleaner mobility to the UK.”
Other companies potentially involved include fellow British company Oxa, which already operates autonomous baggage handling vehicles at Heathrow Airport, and US outfit Waymo, whose self-driving Jaguar I-Pace taxis have been operating in several American cities for a few years now.
Although the government says the trial period could kickstart the creation of 38,000 jobs and an industry potentially worth £42 billion by 2035, it remains to be seen how quickly public trust of autonomous vehicles will build, and whether they really are up to the test of navigating congested cities like London.
The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.
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